Diving, Unified Track
Favorite athlete: Mia Vallee
Favorite team: Eagles
Favorite memory competing in sports: Getting third at states my sophomore year at my first states.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: When I smacked completely flat on a front 2.5 (twice)
Music on your playlist: I listen to just about everything (except country) but LOVE Olivia Dean
Future plans: Furthering my education and athletic career at Seton Hall University for Occupational Therapy and diving.
Words to live by: Everything happens for a reason
One goal before turning 30: Travel the world and go to a safari
One thing people don’t know about me: Bryce Canyon is my favorite place.
By Carig Ostroff
Justine Frantz is exactly where she is supposed to be.
She is a two-year diving captain and three-time top-three finisher in the Suburban One League championships, District One Championships, and PIAA State Diving Championships. She was the driving force behind the formation and growth of Upper Moreland’s Unified Club and Unified Track and Field team. She has her college path set and is passionate about the career she plans to embark upon.
But that doesn’t mean it’s been an easy journey.
Nor does it mean that she always expected to be where she is now.
On the contrary, Frantz’s journey has been one of unexpected twists and turns as well as having to
overcome both physical and mental obstacles.
A multi-sport athlete throughout her youth who was passionate about gymnastics through much of middle school, Frantz came into high school choosing to focus on diving in the winter, then playing lacrosse in the spring under the eye of her mother Kim Frantz, the Golden Bears’ longtime lacrosse coach.
She had grown a little too tall for gymnastics and having dived for her club team, she chose to dedicate herself to becoming the best diver she could be. But as her freshman season started, a nagging back pain began to get worse and worse.
“I pushed it off for as long as I could, until it got to the point where I couldn’t get out of the water anymore without being in excruciating pain,” Frantz said. “Apparently, I had scoliosis that was never diagnosed, and they couldn’t fix it anymore because I was already past the age where they could.
“So that area became more susceptible to the injuries you can get as a result, and I had gotten stress fractures in my L4 and L5 vertebrae (at the bottom of the spine). I had to wear a hard plastic scoliosis brace for 8 weeks. I’m in the marching band, and I went on a trip with the marching band to Florida in this back brace.”
It also meant that her freshman diving season ended early, and she could only watch as the Golden Bears competed in leagues, districts, and states that year.
While recovery from the fractures was difficult physically, it also proved to be mentally challenging for someone who had spent so much time dedicated to athletics and being active.
“It was really hard to deal with at times,” she said. “I thrive off of being physically active. Before the diagnosis, I was starting to think that maybe I do want to dive in college and continue with this. Once I got the diagnosis, I started to think that maybe that’s not realistic for me anymore.
Who knows if I’ll ever be able to get back to the level of diving I was at. It was hard to come back from it, but it also made me more motivated to come back stronger than ever.”
While the injury derailed her freshman winter season, it also upended her plan of playing lacrosse that spring. But as the old saying goes, when one door closes, another opens. Unable to play lacrosse while recuperating, and having plenty of free time with no practices or games on her schedule, Frantz was asked to help out for a club that would end up changing the direction of her high school athletic career.
With Upper Moreland planning to start a Unified Club as well as Unified Bocce and Unified Track and Field teams, Frantz was asked to man the signup table in the spring.
“I couldn’t do anything physical that spring, and they had the freshman orientation with all the clubs and sports team, and they asked if I would be interested in helping out,” Frantz said. “We didn’t have Unified Track my freshman year. I started talking to some people to see who would be interested in doing it, maybe we could put something like this together. I made a banner, reached out to friends to try to get people interested in it.”
To say that Frantz’s situation turned out to be a blessing in disguise would be an understatement.
“Right away, we were looking for someone to be a leader and who wanted to get to know the kids with intellectual disabilities,” said Unified Track coach Megan Fisher. “Justine stepped up and she just keeps going strong.
“We have the Unified Club and Unified Track as well as the Bocce team. The club meets monthly and does activities to mix the kids, we play getting-to-know-you games, do crafts. Justine comes up with stuff we do each month. In track, she’s getting everyone stretched and warmed up, motivating students, helping them when they need it. She’s running and also doing the running broad jump. She’s so good at working with the kids, giving them instructions and showing them how to do an event. She’s someone who wants to make things better for everyone.”
Frantz found a new passion, and one that would help frame her future.
“I love Unified Track,” she said. “You can ask any athlete, they’ll tell you that there are days you just don’t want to go to practice after school. But I’ve never felt that way about Unified. I’m always so excited to go.
“Seeing these kids who might never get the chance to run a race or take a bus to an away meet, to be in that community where everyone is supporting each other, it’s such an amazing thing to be a part of. You can be competitive as part of a team but not to the point where it gets too intense or it becomes unenjoyable. Unified is such a joy to be a part of.”
•••
With freshman year in the books and her athletic path set, Frantz worked to get back into shape for her sophomore season in the pool.
Frantz said that it took her throughout the spring and into the summer before she felt she was back in the proper form as a diver. She followed a strict routine while rehabbing, following a dive limit or a time limit as she slowly eased back into form.
And while she said she came into her sophomore season feeling healthy and strong, there was a new feeling that occasionally intruded.
“Being in constant pain is awful, but I really think the mental part or coming back was harder,” she said. “Diving is already such a mental sport, and there’s so much fear that goes along with trying new things. What if I reinjure myself trying a new move? What if I land the wrong way? It’s definitely very challenging to get over that fear.”
But once the season kicked into gear, Frantz was able to put those thoughts aside because of a different feeling that overpowered any doubts or fear - the thrill of being able to compete again.
“When my freshman year got taken away, I think that’s when I realized how much diving meant to me,” she said. “Sophomore year I didn’t put any pressure on myself. Sophomore year was amazing. I came in with an attitude that I was just so grateful that I get to do this every day. I’m so lucky that I can even dive right now. It completely changed the game for me in terms of mindset.”
With her renewed approach, Frantz put together an outstanding sophomore season. She finished second in Suburban One Leagues and District One diving, and earned a bronze medal in the State Championship meet.
Junior year brought a mixed bag for Frantz. She continued to rise – winning both leagues and Districts and moving up to silver at States – but the internal drive to improve, as well as the additional stress of an intensive recruiting process, made it a challenging season.
Fortunately, she had a lot of help. While she was never able to play high school lacrosse for her mother, she was able to have her mom as a coach, as Kim Frantz also became the Golden Bears’ diving coach last season.
“Having my mom as my coach was super-supportive,” Justine said. “Junior year very stressful for me. I really felt that pressure setting in again, even though I did really well last year. My mom did a great job helping me balance my ambition and putting too much pressure on myself.”
“You go through your ups and down in every sport,” Kim Frantz said. “In these individual sports, if you’re successful one year, there can be a lot of pressure to do very well the next year, to have to do better the next year. We had to work through some of that. There were times when we had to go back to, ‘Remember when you couldn’t dive at all. Let’s just think about diving, having fun, and stop putting pressure on yourself.’”
As a senior captain, Frantz again performed impressively, winning leagues and finishing second in Districts. But where repeating as a District One silver medalist might be considered a remarkable feat, Frantz said she did not look at it that way.
In a tight battle for the District gold medal, Frantz’s final dive was not up to par, and she finished less than 1.5 points behind first place. Good enough for silver, and good enough to qualify for States, but still disappointing as a top-level athlete in a sport that demands perfection.
“The District meet ended rough for me,” Frantz said. “I was a little bit off my game, but I was working hard and ready to go for States. This year mentally was tough for me mentally with diving, exhaustion from senior year … but I also know how difficult it is to get to States. I did love this season, it was so much fun to be out there with everyone. My diving team so tight-knit, the four of us loved every second of this season. Everyone always had such a positive attitude.
“So I went into States ready to have a great last meet and end things in a positive way.”
As fate would have it, Frantz was battling for second place heading into the final dive. And as fate would have it, it was the same dive that she believes potentially cost her the district title.
But as she’d done time and time again throughout her diving career, Frantz overcame the doubts and the anxiety. And the dive that caused her to settle for second at Districts ensured she’d earn
the silver at States.
“I was terrified to do that one because that dive lost me Districts,” Frantz said. “But at States, it got me that second place, which in itself was a win for me. I’m really happy to have that be the end of my season.
“It really did mean a lot to me. When it came down to the last dive, it was about second place at that point. It wasn’t a question of if I could have won. It was, ‘Look what I was able to do!’”
So does that mean that the dive that she was so terrified of has now become her favorite?
“I’m not as scared of it as I was,” she said with a laugh. “It’s still not my favorite, but it’s definitely less scary.”
It also made for a very special moment between athlete and coach … and daughter and mother.
“Justine was definitely putting a lot of pressure on herself, but she really locked in and brought it all together,” said coach Frantz, before switching into mom mode. “As soon as she was done, I hugged her and said to her, ‘You can do hard things.’ She locked it together and did what she needed to do. She learned that she can do things even when they’re really hard.”
•••
While Frantz has been able to enjoy a rare relationship with her mother as her coach for the last two years, family ties have always played a strong role in clearing her path forward. Next year, she will head to Seton Hall University to dive and pursue a degree in occupational therapy.
Though her time in the Unified Club and Unified Track Team solidified her desire to pursue occupational therapy, the seeds were planted long ago.
“When I was really little, I remember my sister had a speech impediment and rarely talked, she was always afraid to talk to people,” Frantz said. “She went to speech, and she got her confidence back. I think I realized even then – that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to help people find their confidence.
“In researching speech therapy, I saw occupational therapy and found it more hands-on in helping people adapt. And when my grandmom had a stroke and we saw her go through OT, that’s when I think I really knew that this is what I want to do for sure.”
Frantz will head to Seton Hall University – a school that never entered her college search until early in her senior year – to continue her diving career. She is also excited to look to the future and a chance to continue working and helping the kinds of kids she’s formed bonds with through her time in Unified.
“I’ve looked at a lot of career with kids with special needs,” she said. “OT spoke to me, and through Unified, I really do love being around these kids. They are the most positive people on this planet. They always bring a smile to my face. Those are the people I want to surround myself with when I move out into the world.”
But first, there’s still a good bit of unfinished business at Upper Moreland. Unified Track season is underway. The team won the District title in its first year, and Frantz would love nothing more for the team than to end her senior season with another crown.
Her senior courseload is challenging even as the days get warmer and graduation looms closer. And she remains involved in multiple other school organizations.
She is completing her fourth year as part of student government – she served as class president as a freshman and sophomore and as class treasurer as a junior and senior – and is a member of the Upper Moreland chapter of the National Honor Society. She has played trumpet for four years in the marching band and the jazz band. And she’s working toward finding and preparing a successor to take over her leadership role in Unified.
And when she leaves the gold and purple for the last time, there is little doubt the kind of student-athlete that Upper Moreland will be losing.
“Justine is someone who’s very passionate about diving and has been a great leader and had a lot of success, but she’s always been very involved in other aspects of the school as well,” Kim Frantz said. “She’s always wanted what’s best for Upper Moreland and for her fellow students. And Seton Hall is getting someone who is going to work hard both in the pool and in academics, who has some very clear goals, and is going to work as hard as she can to make them happen.
“For me, I’m going to miss having her not just as a diver, but she’s practically a coach as well. She knows way more than I do about diving. We’ll video the dives and, ‘Justine, watch this and tell me what you think.’ I’m going to miss my co-coach.”
“We are going to lose someone who has been such a motivational leader for this group,” Fisher said. “She helped start something at Upper Moreland, and not a lot of kids can say that. When we started Unified, we had no idea what to expect. She was out there recruiting partners for track, always thinking about it, always coming to me or emailing me with ideas, always trying to make things the best she could for everyone involved. Seton Hall is getting a great athlete who is awesome in the classroom, in the pool, and a very kind, sweet person.”
•••
If you’d asked Frantz in the fall of her freshman year what her high school career would look like, Unified Track would not have been a part of the equation.
Yet, looking back on her journey, Frantz believes she is exactly where she is supposed to be. As difficult as it was to endure and rehab from stress fractures, she knows that without it, she would not be where she is now.
“I’m a very strong believer in everything happens for a reason,” she said. “I 100 percent think that everything happens for a reason. I wouldn’t wish what I went through on anyone, and it was terrible.
“If I hadn’t had it, I can’t say I wouldn’t have found Unified, but I probably would not have been as involved as I was, or helped start the Unified Track team because I’d have been playing lacrosse in the spring. But having gone through it, and overcoming the mental challenges that came from it, helped me continue and move forward.”
