Brooke Costanzo Was The Athlete That Everyone Wanted To Coach

SADDLE BROOK, NJ — Brooke Costanzo had the instinct needed to play any sport. She cared for every player. She encouraged every player. She did not care about scoring.

Costanzo, a junior at Saddle Brook High School, played lacrosse and volleyball and was a member of the competition cheerleading team. She died Dec. 4 after she took her mother's Honda Pilot and drove nearly 50 miles to South Brunswick in Middlesex County. The vehicle crashed into a tree Dec. 3 after it veered off the road. Costanzo was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in extremely critical condition, but succumbed to her injuries just before dawn.

Costanzo, 16, "was the athlete that every coach wants on their team," said Sharon Digiovanni, the girls' lacrosse team head coach. "Any sport that she played, she picked up on the first day. She had all of the athletic abilities that people want. Brooke could play anything with ease."

Beyond her natural athletic abilities was her giving and positive attitude as a teammate.

"Brooke was the most positive member of the team. She always kept everyone's spirit up even in the toughest of situation," Digiovanni said. "If a girl was injured on the field, Brooks was the one sitting by her side, holding her hand telling her that everything was going to be OK."

Unselfish is another way Digiovanni described her all-league midfielder.

"At practice, I would, many times, find Brooke running in the back of the pack with the slower girls encouraging them to continue and boosting up their confidence," Digiovanni said. "She didn't like to see anyone left behind."

Costanzo starting playing lacrosse when she was in third grade. The hard work paid off. She had 14 goals and four assists her freshman year and 15 goals and 16 assists her sophomore. She was named first team all-league her sophomore season.

But stats did not matter to Costanzo, her coach said.

"Brooke did not care so much about herself making a goal. She wanted to see other players to do so," Digiovanni said. "On our senior day, Brooke fought for every ground ball so that she could pass it to a senior and watch them score. Her states were not as important as her teammates."

Related: Saddle Brook Mourns Teen Who 'Knew How To Make Everyone Smile'
Related: Saddle Brook Teen Killed In South Brunswick Crash Sunday

Related: Funeral Services Set For Brooke Costanzo

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Photo via GoFundMe page for Brooke Costanzo