“When I first started I jumped 5-6 and now I’m jumping 6-3.”
As he prepares to close the chapter on his high school journey, Jaiden Newsome is reflecting on how far he has come since that terrifying injury he had as a middle school student. Newsome, who was playing football when he broke his leg as an eighth-grade student, didn’t get a chance to play sports during the first two years of his high school journey.
It was a frustrating time for Newsome, who was not only dealing with the injury, but also the Covid-19 shutdown that caused athletics and everything else to stop.
“That basically set me back sports-wise because I didn’t play sports again until my junior year,” the Edison High School senior said.
When he returned to sports during his junior year at Bullard High School, Newsome didn’t start off with football. Instead, he joined the Knights’ track-and-field team.
“At first, it was a struggle. I didn’t know anything about track,” Newsome said. “Then I had some words with my coach and he really got me into it. I just stuck with it.”
Newsome first focused on the high jump and triple-jump events. He later added the hurdles to his repertoire.
The hard work paid off when Newsome took first in the CMAC Championship as a junior, setting a mark of 6-0 in the high jump. He also finished first in the triple jump at the same event with a personal best mark of 40-07.50.
To cap off his junior season, Newsome made it to the Central Section Championships, where he finished 16th in the triple jump (40-03.00).
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For his senior year, Newsome took his talents to Edison High School and became a two-sport athlete, returning to football and still continuing with track-and-field.
Newsome’s return to football brought some more unforgettable memories, including a vital fumble return he had in a game against Justin Garza High School.
“One of my teammates, John, he had made this tackle and I picked up the ball for a fumble return, lowkey changed the momentum of the game since it was the start of the game,” Newsome said. “It was like the first drive. It changed the momentum of the game, we ended up breaking records, our quarterback broke a couple of records. It was an amazing game for us.”
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Newsome continued to add to his resume when track-and-field season kicked off. In a CMAC showdown on April 12, the senior set a personal record in the high jump, setting a mark of 6-3.
“That’s something I thought I would never be able to do,” Newsome said. “Especially when I first started and I jumped 5-6 and now I’m jumping 6-3. That’s something I never thought would come true. I was seeing all these people in higher grades jumping those high heights. Now it’s me up there jumping those high heights.”
Looking back at the difficult days he had after breaking his leg, Newsome said it was his family, faith and video games that helped him get through the challenging time.
Faith is especially important for Newsome, who regularly attends church and leads by example in his community.
“Every year during the holidays, before I go see my family, I go out and give back to the homeless, giving them food, blankets and just share stories with them,” Newsome said.
With his faith and his relentless work ethic, Newsome has also found success in the classroom, leading to multiple scholarship offers in academics. The other key in academics, according to Newsome, is communication.
“Communicate with your teachers,” he said. “These teachers, they don’t want you to fail. They want you to pass. But it’s the communication between you and your teachers. You have to build that bond and that trust.”
Newsome, who is still considering his college options, has decided to study Kinesiology wherever he goes. The goal, he said, is to be a sports therapist. Newsome also plans to minor in business and explore opportunities in entrepreneurship.
The Fresno student-athlete is still determined to continue with track-and-field at the next level. While he’s happy to have multiple scholarship offers for academics and athletics, the Edison senior said that also makes his decision tough.
“It’s an amazing experience, it’s just a difficult choice,” he said.
Newsome, the youngest of four siblings, said he gets spoiled the most at home.
“My older three siblings, they’re no longer in the house,” he said. “My parents only got me before I’m off to college.”
With the values he has learned from his parents, especially faith and hard work, Newsome believes he can do anything.
“You can do all through Christ,” he said. “And you only get as much as you put into it.”
