Before his gold medal at the World Championship and historic final at the Olympics Jordan Crooks’ longtime coach Caleb Miller saw his potential to reach the pinnacle of swimming.
Crooks, 22, became the first Caymanian swimmer in an Olympic final in Paris, finishing just .08 of a second outside of bronze in the 50-metre free. His time also makes him the fastest swimmer ever from the Caribbean.
Miller – the first coach that brought Crooks to international success – watched his student make history on his television in Virginia.
“I tell him all the time, I was proud of him a long time before he was fast and that I’m more proud of the person he is, and is becoming, than anything else,” Miller told the Compass.
Though Crooks enjoyed playing basketball more than any other sport, it was swimming that opened the door to becoming a star athlete.
Crooks was introduced to swimming at the age of four, but it wasn’t until he was 11 that he started to compete – around the time he met Miller, who became his lifelong mentor and friend.
Miller and Crooks paths began to cross in 2014 – the year Crooks attended his first CARFTA championships.
“He was initially a pretty quiet kid, and while he was pretty good for his age, he hadn’t really made the decision to really pursue the sport at a higher level,” Miller said, noting that Crooks was swimming because he genuinely enjoyed it.
Though Crooks had swum for several years as a hobby, once he started training with Miller at Camana Bay Aquatic Club, things slowly began to change.
In 2017, when Crooks returned home from his third consecutive CARIFTA games without a single medal, Miller recalled, that was when his competitive nature kicked in.
‘The higher the goal, the higher the cost’
“Things for him changed around when we were at CARIFTA in Nassau … something clicked for him there,” Miller said.
Crooks knew that he wasn’t performing the way he wanted to, Miller explained, adding that he remembered an interaction the two had when Crooks asked what it would take to achieve success in swimming.
“I remember the conversation being very honest and telling him that all goals require sacrifice and the higher the goal, the higher the cost… the only real question was are you willing to do what it takes in terms of time, dedication, discipline to succeed?” Miller recounted.
But the commitment went both ways, as Miller told Crooks that he too was going to give 100% to the athlete’s journey.
It was a conversation that resonated with Crooks.
His comfort zone was tested but he began to overcome obstacles, facing his fears of swimming in cold water in the winter, in addition to waking up at 5am for practice and accepting that losing to the more experienced kids at the time was the prerequisite to success.
“So, finding his way to the top didn’t happen immediately,” Miller said. “I never really had to fight with Jordan about doing the work,” he added, noting that sometimes Crooks would push himself so hard, that he would throw up in the nearby bushes.
“He was owning his vision and following it up with actions. The only time I had to throw Jordan in the pool was in the winter … Jordan hated the cold water.”
A friendship outside the pool
Although Crooks was coming into his own, his life outside the pool was equally important, and he would find time for his favourite activities.
Crooks enjoys fishing, freediving, catching conch and lobster with his friends, and cherishes time spent with family.
Miller believes Crooks appreciated that he wasn’t only there as a coach but was also a friend; the two would cracked jokes at training and even hit the sea to spearfish together.
“Between the thousands of hours in the pool, and traveling all over the place for competition, you really get to know your athletes well,” Miller said.
“Occasionally Jordan and I would meet up to go fishing or hunt lionfish,” he added, noting that afterward they would grab lunch at Heritage Kitchen in West Bay.
Crooks’ international breakthrough
Through their friendship, Miller stood with Crooks, watching him compete at the Youth Olympics and Island Games.
And he was with the swimmer when he eclipsed Cayman’s national junior records time and time again.
Miller was also there when Crooks won seven medals at his sixth CARIFTA Championships and watched him compete as part of the nation’s first relay team at the World Championships in 2019 – the year Miller and Crooks had to part ways.
Like many, the challenges of the high cost of living caught up with Miller, who noted his love for Cayman could not outweigh living a sustainable life with his family. He came to the “hard” but realistic decision to leave when his immigration term ran out.
Crooks remained with Camana Bay Aquatic Club for a short period after Miller left, but found the atmosphere and coaching didn’t fit his or his younger sister Jillian’s needs, so the siblings left the club.
No club, no problem
But Miller would again find himself training Crooks, only this time remotely, with some local assistance from then Cayman Islands Aquatic Sports Association technical director Bailey Weathers.
Miller created workouts for Jordan and Jillian and the two swimmers would go over them with Miller; it wasn’t the most convenient way to train, but it worked.
Even amid the COVID-19 outbreak, Miller and his two Cayman athletes were able to continue working together.
The Crooks began swimming in the ocean, while Miller used a GPS to measure their watercourse which he mapped out for them to complete. They adhered to that open-water training every day.
“I mean it’s kind of crazy, but we had success, and they were ready to swim when kids returned to the pool, and in good form,” Miller said.
Their excellent form came as a surprise to many as the Crooks siblings had limited resources, but still managed to attend swim meets and blow their opposition out of the water, leaving no doubt that they were the fastest swimmers.
“While a little unorthodox it seemed to work because that’s when Jordan got discovered by Tennessee at a TYR Pro Series meet,” Miller said.
So even without a team or a club Jordan was able to earn a spot at the University of Tennessee and Jillian made her first Olympic team.
“I could write another novel about Jillian as well,” Miller said of the now most decorated female Caymanian swimmer of all time.
University records tumble
Crooks smashed multiple SEC and NCAA records during his freshman and sophomore years with the University of Tennessee swimming and diving programme under coach Matt Kredich.
Crooks tops the charts for best freshman swimmer in NCCA history for both the 50- and 100-yard freestyle events.
He and US’s Caeleb Dressel are the only two swimmers ever to clock sub-18 seconds in the 50-yard free, both accomplishing that feat twice.
During his historic run at Tennessee, Crooks capped off 2022 with a gold at the FINA World Championships (short course) – making him the first Caymanian in any sport to win a medal at the world championships.
His time at the world championships of 20.31 seconds tied him for the fourth fastest short course swimmer in history – being only 0.15 seconds off Dressel’s world record.
It felt like that was the moment people started paying attention to Crooks, with exceptions like Miller who was there for the entire ride, even making trips to visit Crooks in Tennessee.
“When Jordan won worlds, I was at a meet in California and woke up at like 3am to watch the swim and when he won, I must have woken the whole hotel up,” Miller said, noting that Crooks’ culmination of years and years of dedication had finally paid off.
“Jordan wasn’t an overnight success,” Miller elaborated. “He had to sacrifice to earn this. Jordan and I talk frequently … it’s now more like we are brothers than anything else, but I think that is inevitable having gone through success, failure, and good times, [and] I can’t say enough nice things about the Crooks family – they really are family to us.”
While Crooks sacrificed and worked hard to make it to where he is today, credit is to be given to a select few. Those include his parents James and Faith Crooks, Cayman coaches Grant Ferguson and Katie Lambert, his Tennessee coach Matt Kredich and Miller.
“I believe that Jordan will continue to find success in the sport because just like he did when he was younger, he’s going to jump back in the pool and try to be better today than he was yesterday, steadfast in his belief that he can get better and his unwavering commitment to success,” Miller said.
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