James Reese '23 Recruiting Profile

My name is James Reese. I moved to Pennsylvania when I was 15, before that I had lived all around the globe, from D.C. to Cuba to Russia. I started diving my freshman year of high school, because I had been enamored with the sport since I had watched the 2012 London Olympics. I saw those amazing athletes flipping and twisting through the air, and I wanted to become like them. 

My freshman year was not as good as it could have been. I barely qualified for districts, and then COVID hit. With so many of the things I loved to do blocked off to me, I had a lot of time to think about how I wanted to move forward after quarantine was lifted. I came to the conclusion that if I wanted to be the best, I had to work harder then everyone else around me. Every day I was doing nothing was only giving my competition an edge over me. I had no access to a pool, so I did dryland workouts over that enduring quarantine, from January until September. I practiced hurdle forms in the mirror, I did pike ups until I couldn't keep going , I had nothing else in my life to focus on at that time. My parents more than anything pushed me to keep moving towards my goal, both in the pool and in the classroom. Both having served in the military, they instilled in me the idea that nothing came easy, and that you have to keep going no matter what. When my sophomore year diving season rolled around, I think I was more prepared than both my teammates and my competitors. It was that hard work that let me win a district title and compete in the PIAA state meet. 

I love this sport, and I love the atmosphere of competition it creates. If not the hardest sport, I would say diving is definitely the most complicated. More than anything else, I want to be the best. My academics have helped me create a starting point that I can use to build other skills on, and i plan to get the most out my education and well as my athletics. I will work as long, as hard as it takes, to get to the top.