Team sports give athletes a sense of family and unity, however for student Bailey Irvin, her position as they only diver on campus is unique to the tradition of teams across the board.

Bailey began diving in eighth grade when her coach took notice of her ability to venture out from just swimming and discover her natural ability for the sport.

Irvin soon grew a passion for diving and the new experience of the individuality of diving as a whole.

“Diving is really fun because it’s not the same thing over and over again,” Irvin said. “Everyday there’s a new dive that you can learn and that’s really exciting.”

Training each day after school, her coach Claudia Sunday is impressed with Baileys eagerness to improve day in and day out.

“Since our time together, I have seen her grow in her confidence,” Sunday said via email. “She has a great deal of drive and a wonderful work ethic that has helped her overcome the mental aspect of throwing harder dives. Bailey is very determined, hard working, and a very coachable athlete.”

Despite her spot as the school’s only diver, she feels unified with athletes from across Frisco.

“It’s pretty lonely,” Irvin said. “But we practice with other divers from FISD and I’ve made friends with divers from other schools so it’s pretty fun.”

From all campuses in Frisco ISD, divers come together to train under the same coach.

“Coaching athletes from all ten high schools here in FISD is a great honor,” Sunday said via email. “It’s a lot of kids, time and challenges. However, it is a feeling like no other when you see these athletes who would normally be “enemies” because of their different schools form lifelong bonds and friendships as they become their own family. The sport of diving itself is one of the greatest communities, positive, collaborative and just plain fun.”

Competing against one another in meets throughout the season, the divers maintain a feeling of family despite not being on the same team. 

“Even when it comes down to competition time, the divers are so supportive of one another,” Sunday said via email. “They have been with each other through all of the conditioning, drills, hurdles, dives and even smacks. So when they see someone standing on the board about to do a dive they are scared of, you better believe there is a ton of cheering and encouragement going on. Those are definitely some proud “mama” moments for me.”