Basketball, Track & Field
Favorite athlete: Kawhi Leonard
Favorite memory competing in sports: When I finally got my first dunk in a game.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: When I was playing JV basketball as a freshman, both teams set up on the wrong side of the court, and nobody picked up on it. When we inbounded the ball, our point guard dribbled to that side of the court and we got a backcourt violation.
Future plans: Graduate college after four years.
Words to live by: “Don’t live by the opinions of others.”
One goal before turning 30: Have a high paying job.
By Craig Ostroff
For a young man who prefers to blend in with the crowd, Justin Sutton certainly manages to find ways to stand out.
While the Cheltenham senior might not be the type of guy who seeks the spotlight, his efforts and leadership on the basketball court and the track have earned Sutton a place of distinction in the eyes of his teammates and coaches.
“Even walking through the hallways in school, Justin’s not the guy with the bright orange sweatshirt; he likes to blend in,” said Panthers’ boys basketball coach John Timms. “But by blending in, he’s always going to stand out. His work ethic is what’s going to separate him.
“Justin is not the guy who’s going to get the bright lights and the stars. If you’re looking for the flash, you’ll miss Justin. But if you’re looking for effort and quality and consistency, you’ll never overlook him.”
Timms points to Sutton’s hook shot as a natural gift, but everything else Sutton has achieved on the hardwood, he’s done through hard work. And he’s amassed a high school career that might not land him among the leading scorers in the area, but it has gained him the respect of those around him. He earned the honor of a First Team All-American Conference selection as a senior, having been named third team all-league in his junior year.
“Justin is successful because he works his tail off,” Timms said. “I’m elated for Justin, and when a kid can average nine points a game and make first team all-league, that means that the other coaches saw the same things I saw.”
While Sutton committed to a refocused training regimen in preparation for the basketball season, he also credits everything he’s learned as a member of the Panthers’ track and field team for helping achieve one of his personal goals in basketball.
“I knew I wanted to make first team all-league this year,” said Sutton, who participated in numerous early morning, preseason workout sessions to prepare for his final campaign on the hardwood. “This time I really prepared for the season.I was benchpressing to get stronger, working out with the sprinters. I felt like I had the skills, I just had to get in better shape.
“My sophomore year in basketball, I’d try to block shots, and the ball would go over fingertips. To improve my fadeaway, I needed to get my hamstrings better developed. I had to learn to jump better, and I thought if I do track, it would help with my hamstrings and my lift and I could get up more.”
Sutton’s only regret with going out for track and field – where he competes in the long jump, triple jump and high jump (and occasionally in a sprint) – is that he hadn’t gone out for the team sooner.
“Once I started and I started to see the results, I knew I should have done this three years earlier,” he said. “Doing track was one of the best decisions I ever made.”
And as leagues, districts and states near, Sutton is enjoying his strongest season on the track as well. He recently set a personal record in the high jump at 5 feet, 10 inches, and notched a PR in the triple jump as well.
“Justin is a kid who wants to improve, and he is improving,” said Cheltenham boys track and field coach Dr. Robert Beale. “His work ethic has really picked up this year. Last year was a frustrating year for him, but he found his niche and really stepped up his work ethic.”
It’s made him an ideal leader for a Panther team that was the state champion last year, but – having lost numerous elite athletes to graduation – is undergoing a rebuilding process this spring.
“Justin certainly leads by his example,” Beale said. “He’s not very boisterous. He’ll say a few words and just perform. Some people try to be leaders with a lot of talk and nothing to back it up. Justin doesn’t say much, but he backs it up. He leads by example.”
And he’s proven to be a fine example to follow, having had to put in the hours of work and preparation before he was able to achieve the success he’s having in the jumps this season.
“I had the basics, but I didn’t know exactly what to do,” Sutton said of learning the proper techniques for each event. “I started working harder in the weight room, doing squats, I took a weight training course. And Dr. Beale showed me things with my form, helped me perfect it, and I really took off.
“None of it came naturally to me. When I started track, I didn’t have balance or the mechanics or the form – now I feel like I finally have all three.”
He’s taking aim at a District One-qualifying jump in an event or two. Having set two personal records in the past few weeks, Sutton said he feels like he’s heading in the right direction.
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It’s not all track and basketball for Sutton. There is a third team of which he is an integral part. And just like in track and basketball, this team needs all of its members performing in sync and striving to achieve a common goal in order to succeed.
“I play the double bass in the Concert String Orchestra,” said Sutton, adding that he’s not a fan of performing solos and prefers to be a part of the whole group when it’s playing. “I’ve been playing standup bass since fifth grade. Playing the bass is fun, and music gets me calm, puts me in a zone. It makes you feel good to be a part of that.
“A lot of athletes aren’t musicians. It’s always fun when teammates see me in the string orchestra and say, ‘oh, he plays that. He’s not just a basketball player.’”
A solid student as well, Sutton displays all the facets of an ideal student athlete.
“Justin is the face of a student athlete,” Timms said of Sutton, who will play basketball and will attempt to walk on to the track team at Elizabethtown College next year. “He gets the role of student – he takes his grades very seriously. He gets that the role of athlete doesn’t mean just basketball – whatever sport that may need you, if you can contribute to that sport, do it. And he’s well-rounded and respectful.”
Sutton has proven to be an invaluable member of both the track and basketball teams not only for his achievements on the court and in the jumps, but also for the example he provides to the younger members of two teams that are building to a better future.
“Justin may not be the most gifted or natural athlete you’ll find, but he works so hard, and kids like that inspire others,” Beale said. “He inspires the other kids through his work ethic. Sports is a microcosm of life. Some people are more gifted than others, but they don’t use those skills to the fullest. Others work hard and end up enjoying the benefits of their hard work.”
“This year, it was important that Justin and the rest of the senior group lead the program in the right direction,” Timms said. “Justin is really unselfish, and it says something when you’re an unselfish leader.
“For me as a coach, having someone like Justin gives the younger guys the knowledge that talent alone gets you nowhere. There are a lot of people in this world who at some point were behind a group of people they are now no longer behind because they work harder. Justin is that example. If there’s one player who exemplifies what I look for in a student-athlete, Justin Sutton would be that student-athlete.”
