Junior Joey Justice never imagined himself to be a diver. Unlike many teammates and other divers who brought with them backgrounds in gymnastics or trampoline, Justice entered the sport with no experience in either.

The journey into diving began with encouragement from his sister, who was a former diver at Hamilton Southeastern and later at Ball State.

“My sister got me into diving,” Justice said “… she was the first person who encouraged me to start, and helped me learn the basics”

What began as a sibling’s encouragement quickly turned into a passion, and now Justice is competing as a diver, with a new passion in mind. Diving practices are intense, each session is a balance of physical conditioning and mental preparation.

“Each practice starts with dynamic stretches, handstands, a roll series, and tuck/pike jumps to get our bodies warmed up,” Justice explained. “… then I head over to the hurdle, the hurdle is crucial to getting the most height out of the board, so I spend time making sure everything looks and feels how it should.”

Being a Diver, Justice is faced with the challenges of balancing school, and his sport. Both take time outside of school,

“I make sure to get my homework done after practice every day, which sometimes means sacrificing some of my social life,” Justice said. The commitment is demanding but Justice has found a way to excel in both in diving and in the classroom.

As the season continues, Justice plans to remain consistent and has sights of improvement throughout the season.

“My main goal for this season is to keep improving the quality of my dives at each meet and to put inward flip onto my head” explained Justice.

With goals in mind, Justice will continue to grow within his junior season. Justice plans to add more and more dives every week as he hopes to make a name for himself. With two more years left he will continue to grow in his new passion and is ready to dive into whatever comes next.