Pepperdine freshman volleyball player JT Martins strives to be more than an athlete.
His high school athletic accomplishments include winning the state championship in 2017, being a high school All-American and a member of the U.S. Junior National team. However those come second to his commitment to being an outstanding individual off the court.
Martins makes a lasting impact on the life of everyone he comes into contact with, creating a welcoming and inviting culture for all, teammates said.
“[JT is] goofy, always happy and has a kind heart,” said Tommy Koppang, freshman volleyball teammate and business administration major. “His constant happiness and joy always gives off great energy.”
In times of need Martins aims to be there for his friends and teammates.
“JT has helped me through some of the most difficult times of my life and no matter where we are he is always there for me,” said Jaylen Jasper, his U.S. Junior National Team teammate and undeclared freshman.
When the two were teammates this summer, Martins’ ability “to understand people’s situations and think about what it would be like from their perspective,” affected Jasper’s life in a significant way, Jasper said.
While at Lake Placid for training with the national team, Jasper found out his younger brother Jarren had emergency heart surgery and “something had went wrong and he flatlined for 15 minutes.”
Martins found Jasper when he first heard the news.
“He was struggling with not being able to be there [for Jarren] so I came and sat down next to him and bear hugged him for 15 minutes, crying the whole time,” Martins said.
Jasper made the difficult decision to leave training camp to be with his brother and his family.
In a piece for the Stanford website, where Jasper is a freshman, Jasper recounted Martins’ words of encouragement.
“Everything’s going to be alright, just have faith,” Martins said.
Jasper and Martins’ friendship grew tremendously because of their experience together during such a difficult time in Jasper’s life.
“I consider myself one of the luckiest people on the planet to have JT as such a close friend,” Jasper said. “He was there for me and is apart of my family.”
Jarren completed heart transplant surgery, and is recovering well as his body adjusts to his new heart.
Volleyball has always been an important platform for Martins to grow as an individual and on the court as well.
Martins started playing competitive volleyball for the first time as a freshman at Cardinal Gibbons high school in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Martins was familiar with the sport because of his two older sisters, Carolyn and Sarah, the latter of whom plays volleyball at James Madison University in Virginia.
Martins never gravitated to the sport until his high school basketball teammate convinced him to tryout his freshman year.
However, once involved in the sport, Martins learned to love the game. Standing 6’5” his freshman year, Martins proved to be a natural.
“I was starting my first game as a freshman … the very first point I jumped up and stuffed the other guy,” Martins said.
After his first high school season, Martins committed himself to club volleyball after his coach convinced him to do so. His junior year, Martins attended the Junior National team tryouts and made the 24-man roster. The team trimmed down to 12 players after and Martins unfortunately did not make the final roster.
“I was in shock, everyone was so much more experienced than me, but I used that as motivation to get to their level,” Martins said.
The next season, fueled by the sting of the previous year letdown, Martins made the final 12-man roster and traveled with the team to Cuba for the NORCECA volleyball championships, where the team placed fourth overall.
Martins’ success in volleyball has provided him with the ability to grow in his weaknesses. Martins said he grew up a very shy kid who at times felt ‘overshadowed’ by his two outgoing, older sisters.
“I was shy before I was playing volleyball, but [my friends] helped me come out of my shell and become more confident,” Martins said.
Martins’ confidence enables him to tackle the challenges volleyball brings.
“JT has a growth mindset and is a great learner,” Pepperdine Volleyball Head Coach David Hunt said. “He keeps a positive attitude, competes with and for his teammates and embraces difficult challenges. JT has the drive to be elite in all that he does.”
Martins said he will use that drive to carry him to success off and on the volleyball court in his career at Pepperdine and beyond.
Jacob Resendiz completed this profile under the supervision of Dr. Christina Littlefield in Jour 241 in fall 2018.
