It all started with a bet with his sister. Four years later, Joey Justice is standing on the diving board as a senior, chasing a bid to the IHSAA Diving State Championships and proving what began as a bet turned into a true passion.
Justice stands at the top of the diving board and pauses as his mind goes blank. He turns his back to the water and visualizes what he is about to accomplish with this dive. He suddenly leaps from the diving board and executes his dive with perfection.
Joey Justice started his diving career in his freshman year, not because he wanted to be a diver, but because he made a bet with his older sister. His older sister, Hannah Justice, was also a diver at Hamilton Southeastern High School and is currently a member of the diving team at Ball State University. She is the reason Joey started his career in the sport. Justice looks up to his older sister Hannah not only because she made it to the collegiate level, but because of the success and impact she had at Hamilton Southeastern.
“I started diving on a bet with my sister. But I came back my sophomore year because of how great the team was and how close I got with my teammates throughout my freshman season,” Justice said.
Justice found out from his older sister how much he enjoyed being a part of an amazing team and how fun it is to dive. Justice truly realized this after his sophomore year when he really started investing time into diving.
“After my sophomore season, I started to take diving a lot more seriously, and it turned into a passion for me rather than just an activity that I did with my friends,” Justice said.
Often, diving gets overlooked, but it is crucial to the Hamilton Southeastern swimming and diving team’s success. Justice and his teammate, Hunter Holz, are always a consistent scoring option during their meets.
“Diving is very important to the team’s success in meets because of the consistent points we put up on the board every meet,” Justice said. “My teammate Hunter and I have competed very well this year, getting first and second in the majority of our meets, and have helped the team to either pull ahead of other teams or give us a greater lead.”
Justice’s main goal this season is to make it out of the IHSAA Sectionals. For years, the Fishers Sectional has been the hardest sectional to make it out of in the state. Typically, three out of four divers who make it out of this sectional finish in the top five at the IHSAA State Championship.
“I want to make it out of sectionals and eventually make it to state,” Justice said.
Another thing that gets significantly overlooked in diving is the mental toll that it takes on you. You’re the only one on the board, and everything is on you. If something goes wrong, there is only yourself to blame.
“[Diving] is one of the hardest sports to master both physically and mentally,” Justice said. “My coaches and teammates have been very supportive throughout the season. There has been no lack of encouragement from anybody, and we all work hard to stay motivated and have helped each other all year long.”
Justice has been one of the top divers at Hamilton Southeastern for the past two years and will be leading the charge out of sectionals for the Royals. Make sure to come to boys swimming and diving sectionals on February 19.
“You never know if you’ll love it until you try it,” Justice said.
