It doesn't matter to Highland's Bryce Farabee whether it's an individual sport, a team sport or even an X-games sport. He's delved into all of them. In the delving he's found he's pretty good in all of them. So he's going to continue to play them all.

Farabee, junior at Highland High, is a three-sport athlete. He dives, plays basketball (a starter or one of the first players off the bench each of the last two years averaging six points a game) and plays volleyball. A rare bird in the new millennium. The sport that garners the least attention is the one he's king -- diving.

Last November he completed his second incremental leap in as many seasons by winning the Division I state diving title. As a freshman he finished 11th at state, jumped to sixth his sophomore year and reached the summit by beating his nearest competitor by 28 points for the title.

Farabee didn't take up diving until he was in eighth grade. But he figured he had the preparation needed to give it a whirl.

"I got into gymanastics and that gave me the coordination that's helped me in all sports," Farabee said. "I did gymnastics from the time I was five until I was nine. I was pretty good by that last year. I finished third in the state."

Five years of gymnastics, however, was enough. The continued training was going to require four hours a day, six days a week. Farabee had other athletic interests -- mainly basketball at the time -- and didn't like the thought of giving up all his time for one sport.

He also had a mentor of sorts in older brother, Cody, an elite gymnast and who won a state diving title three years ago competing for Williams Field High and helped coach Highland's divers last fall. Watching and wanting to perform the 'crazy tricks' that diving can showcase was the main reason he took up the sport just prior to high school.

"I don't do diving year round," Farabee said. "I'll go out on an occasional Saturday if it's warm and dive. In the winter it's basketball, and now my focus is on volleyball. With diving my brother set a high bar. That kind of pushed me to do better."

Highland athletic director Rod Huston always runs into Farabee. Participating in a sport every season breeds that familiarity.

"He's a great athlete," Huston said. "I know the football coaches are all over him to come out and be a receiver. .....He's the type of kid if he focused on one sport no telling how good he'd be. But I like seeing kids do what he does. He likes to compete, and has the ability to do it."

Farabee can't please all his coaches all the time in the commitment  they like to see to their sport. He works it out as best he can, but admits it can be difficult.

"There are times I have to make choices," Farabee said. "And sometimes there are consequences to those choices......There are times when I work on all three sports the same day. On those days I may not get home until 10 o'clock."

Allocating the time in slices is worth it to him. Although he concedes his best chance for a scholarship is likely to come as a diver, he still plans on three sports next year as a senior.

"The training I've had with gymanstics and being able to play different sports, I feel blessed," Farabee said. "I'm thankful for all the opportunities. I've gone out and tried to take advantage of it."