When sophomore diver Juan Celaya-Hernandez started his diving career at LSU, he immediately made a big splash out of the pool and a small splash in it.
Celaya-Hernandez was the SEC freshman diver of the year and won an SEC championship in the men’s platform dive. However, LSU and NCAA competition did not come easy at first for Celaya-Hernandez, who is from Mexico and was not as familiar with English unlike many of the swimmers and divers at LSU.
“It was a really big change for me, coming to the states,” Celaya-Hernandez said. “There is a totally different culture, different environment, different language, and different food.It was a little tough the first few months, living by myself with no family here.”
He was familiar with English before coming to LSU, however.
Celaya-Hernandez had represented Mexico in international competition, including in the Junior Pan American Games, and had learned English before coming to LSU.
“My native language is Spanish, but since I was traveling a lot for international competition, I decided to learn English,” he said.
While the language barrier was a struggle at first for Celaya-Hernandez, he soon felt right at home with his fellow Tigers.
Not only did Celaya-Hernandez win an SEC championship in the platform, he set a record in it and he finished second in both the one meter and three meter dives.
He capped his freshman season off with a third place finish at the NCAA championships in the one meter dive, which was ahead of all the freshman divers in the competition.
“Last season was a pretty good season,” Celaya-Hernandez said. “Coming here as a freshman and being the little guy, the youngest and shortest guy on the team, it was a really good season for me. I am really proud of it, we had been working a lot for it.”
Celaya-Hernandez was given recognition by LSU for his accomplishments.
During the second quarter of the LSU football game versus Troy, Celaya-Hernandez and LSU diving coach Doug Shaffer were honored at Tiger Stadium.
“It was a pretty great experience,” Celaya-Hernandez said. “I loved it. I still watch the video and I still cannot believe that I was on the field in front of 100,000 people doing a backflip with everybody looking at me and what I have accomplished so far.”
While this season has just started, Celaya-Hernandez is already off to a hot start.
In an instrasquad meet, Celaya-Hernandez finished at the top of the men’s divers at LSU and against Loyola in an exhibition meet, he finished first in both the one meter and three meter dives.
His coach hopes that he can build off of that to have an even better season than last year.
“He has lofty goals this season,” Shaffer said. “He has higher goals than what he accomplished last year. I will say, looking at Juan this season, he has more maturity, he is more experienced, and he is a better diver than last season. It is going to be a fun ride.”
Celaya-Hernandez success in the swimming pool has been matched by his rigidity in the classroom.
He is a civil engineering major, which can be a demanding classload.
“It is my sophomore year and I am starting to take the engineering classes,” Celaya-Hernandez said. “It is getting tougher with all of my classes and practice. Engineering is a really tough degree and mixing it with diving, or any sport, makes you have to learn how to manage your time.
”The biggest obstacle according to Celaya-Hernandez has not been class loads or language barriers, but being away from home.
Unlike many of the other swimmers and divers at LSU, Celaya-Hernandez is not able to see his family or have his family see his meets.
“I really miss Mexico,” he said. “I miss my family, a lot, and being with family. I miss having someone who knows me. Not having my mom here is pretty tough, but I talk with them every day and every chance I have.”