North Jersey Female Athlete of the Week finding joy after seeking help
North Jersey Female Athlete of the Week finding joy after seeking help
Sean Farrell, NorthJersey.com Thu, May 7, 2026 at 4:12 PM UTC
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The numbers say she’s untouchable.
Ramsey softball ace Brooke Donofrio is carving through lineups with a 0.24 ERA this spring. She's thrown four straight shutouts and fanned 13 in a no-hitter last week. Batters are more likely to walk back to the dugout than put the ball in play against the North Jersey Female Athlete of the Week, presented by HSS.
But the truth is Donofrio hit a point when the game she loved stopped feeling like hers at all.
She entered last offseason carrying the weight of two painful endings: Five earned runs in the Bergen County final against Immaculate Heart, and five more in the sectional final against Jefferson. She is a four‑star recruit, ranked No. 3 in New Jersey’s Class of 2027, and suddenly every outing felt like a referendum.
As summer wore on, she started feeling shaky during starts. That’s when she realized she needed help.
“I feel like the expectations put a large weight on my shoulders,” Donofrio said. “I ended up falling short in a lot of the most important points in the high school season and it carried over in the summer. It got to the point where I was having a mental block in pitching.”
Brook Donofrio, Ramsey softball
Donofrio reached out to sports psychologist Jenny Dudziec, beginning an eight‑week program that stretched through the summer and fall.
Dudziec helped her learn to leave mistakes behind, to stay present, to redefine success on days when she wasn’t perfect. The two still text occasionally, and Donofrio still leans on the tools she learned.
The difference is visible in every start.
Donofrio has allowed two earned runs in 58 innings this year while adding 111 strikeouts. She's the engine of a Ramsey team that clinched a division title and the second seed in the Bergen County tournament. She’s also hitting .556 with eight home runs.
“It's normal to feel the pressure, but pressure is a privilege. You have to use it for the right reasons,” Donofrio said.
“A big part is if something happens, I'm moving on. Because you can't control the past. You can't control what you just did. It's what's can I do now? And if I'm not performing today, how can I still help the team?”
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Her coach has seen that evolution up close. Chris Caserta has known Donofrio since she was the third‑grader who showed up at every Ramsey camp, eager to learn from high school stars like Ryan Henry and Victoria Sebastian. He’s seen the raw power, the “unbelievable work ethic”, and now the polish.
What’s stood out this year is the way she’s learned to change speeds and move hitters’ eyes.
“She is becoming a ‘pitcher’, not just relying on hard velocity,” Caserta said. “Good teams won't be able to time up just hard velocity. She's able to now move her pitches inside and out much better and understand the difference between throwing hard and hitting spots.”
Donofrio’s routine carries the same precision. Every game day starts with a Starbucks or Dunkin' run with friends. Her hair is always the same – slicked back with two braids – and before she pitches, she writes a message on her arm in Sharpie to honor her grandfather. Donofrio also takes plenty of pride in representing her hometown.
“This year one of the stories is building on the idea that we all come from the zip code,” Donofrio said. “It's not about dwelling in the past and what happened. This is our chance to prove ourselves. This is our chance to rewrite our story.”
Her next chapter is already set. Donofrio committed to Maryland after being in contact with more than 30 college programs. She’s considering majoring in business – or maybe sports psychiatry, a nod to the journey that shaped her.
“I'm a completely different player than last year in my opinion,” Donofrio said. “I think my mindset in the game is a lot different and I've been enjoying it so much more. It's fun and it's hard not to like what we're doing.”
Brooke Donofrio
Sport: Softball
School: Ramsey
Class: Junior Age: 17
Accomplishment: Donofrio went 3-0 with no runs allowed in 19 innings. On April 27, she gave up one walk and no hits in a 7-0 win over River Dell.
Also nominated: Carlee Mirko of Wayne Hills, Kate Broderick of Park Ridge, Emily McCarthy of Ramapo, Gianna Selby of Pascack Valley and Emily Ignacio of Leonia for softball; Keira Hackett of North Arlington, Cortnie Smalls of Wayne Hills, Sofia DeVincentis of Ramapo and Zoey Orlando of Immaculate Heart for track and field; Fiona Helly of Wood-Ridge and Grisellis Perez of Passaic for flag football; and Lily Harrington of Mahwah for lacrosse.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen Record Female Athlete of the Week: Brooke Donofrio, Ramsey
Source: “AOL Sports”
