Diane Frawley: Unsung Hero Of Harrison Athletics

Every sporting event or recreational activity at Harrison High School has one significant constant, teacher Diane Frawley and her camera.

Thanks to Frawley, every touchdown every pitch and every three-pointer can be immortalized for the student athletes in a seemingly countless number of pictures.

As a mother, Frawley has been the personal athletic photographer to her own two children since birth. Both her son Ken and her daughter Emily excel on the field as pitchers and with Frawley's attention to detail and love of photography, she has been able to capture the drama of a moment with a single snapshot taken with her very first digital camera.

At Harrison her focus has shifted off the diamond and primarily onto the gridiron. Since she got to the school she has been baptized by the fire in the religion that is Husky Football.

"I have a lot of athletes in my classes, so my involvement in the athletics program started with football." Frawley said. "The graduating seniors on the football team used to choose a 'Teacher Who Made a Difference' to them and this was publicly recognized at their homecoming pep rally each fall. Right after my first year at Harrison, Frank Luongo gave me this honor, so of course I wanted to see him and his teammates play and thought that I could take some pictures at the games and give them to the students."

Frawley's expertise doesn't only lend itself to the football field or even athletics in general. She goes to games and events in just about every sport regardless if it is home or away, but she also takes pictures of on campus social events at the school such as Halloween, Senior Teacher day, and prom. Every one of the pictures can be seen on what has affectionately become known as the "Frawl Wall."

I asked Frawley to do the impossible and pick a few pictures from her career that really stand out in her head. She pointed to three completely distinct photos, all from different sports. I also caught up with each of the subjects in the pictures so they could give us their take on the photo and their teacher.

"I have pictures of many players hitting home runs and grand slams on the baseball field, which is always exciting, and also many of cheerleaders flying through the air in their amazing stunts. I love capturing those moments. But I do have three that come to mind right away."

Frawley started off by going back to a picture from 2008. "First I have a great close up picture of Charlie Galasso pitching, right after he let go of the ball."

I caught up with Galasso and he had this to say about Frawley's dedication: "It's not the sports Mrs. Frawley goes to see, it is the kids that she cares about, that she wants to be there for and support. She cares about each one of her students and ones that are athletes she loves to go and support at their games."

Frawley continued to her next picture. "I have one of Dennis Rinaldi, in the air and surrounded by three opposing players on the football field, and he made the catch."

"I love that picture, it was a hard play and I just went up and got the ball. I am glad Mrs. Frawley got it on camera." Dennis Rinaldi said. "It may take me a little time to fully appreciate what she does, but I am glad she is always there for me both on the field and in the classroom."

Frawley ended with one of the funnier photos in her repertoire. "Last but not least, I have a picture of Charlie Credendino, falling in a sitting position onto an opposing player on the basketball court, just as he launched the ball toward the basket, and he made the bucket."

Credendino, a freshman, said this of his mentor: "It's nice to know that we have someone like Mrs. Frawley who cares about us enough to be at all the games and take pictures of us. As for that picture itself, it's just funny to see, it was a just an odd play and I was able to make something good come from it. I am glad that she was able to capture the moment."

In her six years as an educator at Harrison High School, Frawley has become much more then just a teacher to several children. Perhaps the best way to explain it would be to allow two of Harrison's best athletes to share their feelings:

"Mrs. Frawley is like a second mother to me." Harrison Senior catcher Gigi LoDolce said of her teacher. "She is one of the kindest people in school. I know I can count on her no matter what."

"Mrs. Frawley knows when to be your friend and knows when to be your teacher. She jokes around with you and knows when to push you in order to succeed," said Jack Molloy, Harrison's kicker and future college football player. "Overall, just a great person to be around."

So as a member of the Harrison family myself, an avid Husky fan and the big brother of two of her students, I would like to just say thank you to Diane Frawley for all the thankless jobs she does.

If a picture truly is worth a thousand words then the "Frawl Wall" is nothing short of an encyclopedia of a year's events at Harrison High School, and every picture she takes nothing less then a glimpse of a high school student's glory days—ones they can now keep and hold on to forever.