One Cool Cat

Tensions were high as nervous competitors stood poolside, each waiting for a turn to dive during the 2007-08 IHSAA Boys Swimming & Diving state finals last February. But title contender Casey Johnson had other things on his mind. The carefree, fun-loving Indian Creek High School student-athlete seemingly shrugged off any pre-dive jitters by dancing with a friend on the competition pool deck. "If you're not having fun, it's not worth your time," said Johnson, who applies his take-it-as-it-comes philosophy to virtually all avenues of life. "Every day is just one step at a time for me. "I don't take anything for granted. I just go with the flow." From all indications, things are flowing quite well for the 19-year-old senior, who is favored by many to win this year's IHSAA 1-meter platform state title after placing third a year ago. However, win or lose, Johnson isn't overwhelmingly concerned. It's just not his nature. "I'm a meet diver, and honestly, you never know what you're going to see from me," he said with a laugh. "I definitely think I have a shot at state, and I'm going for it, but you just can't let things get to you." Johnson's "whatever happens, happens" attitude is misleading considering the countless hours of hard work and numerous personal sacrifices that have gone into making him a state championship-caliber diver. In fact, since first discovering the sport while in the fifth grade, a low-lying degree of focused determination has always been detectable in Johnson, according to 15-year Indian Creek swim team coach Brad Smith. "In sixth grade, he failed a dive and missed winning the Johnson County championship by less than a point," Smith said. "It became obvious very quickly that he wasn't going to ever let that happen again." And Johnson didn't. He went on to secure the county title in both his seventh- and eighth-grade seasons. But that level of success wasn't enough, so Johnson affiliated himself at an early age with a local swim club — the Whiteland Super Starz at Whiteland Community High School — in hopes of enhancing his skills even more.   "He was a scrawny, 4-foot-8 kid back then, but you could see he had great potential," said Super Starz coach Corey Ervin. "He worked with me a couple of years, took a year off and then came back about a year or so ago. He comes here because he wants to be here. Casey is very self-motivated." Some might argue that Johnson, who has also tried his hand at a variety of other sports including football, basketball, baseball, cross country, track and tennis, is additionally very adventuresome.   Johnson, however, describes his own willingness to seek out new and sometimes challenging situations in a somewhat different way. "I like being scared," he said. "I think that's part of why I enjoy diving so much. "Not many people can even think about spinning off a platform 10 meters high or jumping off a diving board and spinning pretty much until you hit the water." Smith believes that element of controlled fear is part of what makes Johnson so special.   "Like most divers, he has good flexibility and agility but when he's up there twisting and flipping, he knows exactly where he is in the air and how to manipulate his body in order to stick a dive," Smith said.   "I don't want to say that we do very little coaching with him, but he just knows what he needs to do." Apparently, that's true. Johnson finished fifth in the state as a sophomore before placing third a year ago. This past summer, he qualified for Junior Nationals through the Whiteland Super Starz and has already made a verbal commitment to dive for Indiana University after graduation. However, Johnson acknowledges that success accomplished through a rigid training schedule has come at a price — the loss of individual free time. "I dove something like two-and-a-half hours, four to five days every week last summer, so I got to hang out with my friends maybe twice," he said. "This year, I've had Indian Creek practice right after school, then I leave early to drive up to Whiteland for another two-hour practice there. "That's why I've had to take a couple of breaks from the Starz. I was getting home around 8:30 p.m. every night and realized I needed to concentrate more on school work," he said. But Johnson, who enjoys smacking teammates with his diving shammy during practices and participating in a water-adapted version of dodge ball while perfecting his dives, insists he wouldn't change a thing.   "There's never a dull moment at the pool when my teammates and I are there," he said. "We have so much fun, and I don't regret a day of it. When it comes to meets, I'm like that, too. I don't think about a dive until I'm on the board and ready to go, and once I do it, it's over. It's out of my mind. I forget about it and move on." -