North Jersey Female Athlete of the Week is the first from her school to win the award

It’s hard to be perfect.

And it’s hard to be the first.

Mary Help of Christians Academy senior Gabby Fromm is both.

Fromm went 10-for-10 in three softball games for the Blue Jays last week, becoming the first student-athlete from her school to be named The Record Athlete of the Week in the award's 68-year history.

“It feels amazing,” Fromm said. “Our school has been around for so long and to be the first is incredible. If I had told my freshman-year self this, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

Mary Help is a small all-girls school in North Haledon, with a little more than 200 girls, that only fields a handful of varsity programs. The Blue Jays play an independent softball schedule.

Fromm was drawn to the school’s religious culture and small size.

“When I first walked on to the Mary Help campus, I immediately loved it,” said Fromm, who lives in Little Falls. “I loved the positive attitude of the girls, the girls on my softball team, and the girls in my school, they are like my sisters. The community is like no other.”

The school doesn’t have a reputation as a sports powerhouse. The softball team, however, put together winning seasons in 2021 and 2022 playing an independent schedule.

“Playing against harder teams is a learning experience for everyone on the team. It can be hard to have a positive mindset when you’re playing against a team with a great record,” Fromm said. “But I like to think of it just one pitch, one out at a time. It can be challenging. We only had four returners from last year, but I am excited to see what they do in the next few years.”

Fromm was always into sports, having watched her older brother Alex play baseball. Fromm played a lot of soccer and baseball until she was 10, when she switched to softball.

In high school, she’s been a member of the Mary Help competitive cheer and dance team that performs at Don Bosco football games.

“The crowd is always into it,” Fromm said. “We got to perform at MetLife Stadium for three of four years. Freshman year, there were only nine girls, but my friends and I worked hard to expand the program and this year we had 20 girls.”

In the spring, Fromm trades the cheerleader uniform for a softball one. The 5-foot-5 right-hander says softball has always been a big part of her life.

“I have grown up watching baseball and going to games,” Fromm said. “Even if we lose a game, I think about how there might have been a good play that was made by me or my teammates and I like seeing the growth as you go along.”

The senior has accepted a full presidential scholarship to St. Elizabeth’s, where she hopes to play softball and study health care administration.

While she’s the first in her school history to win Athlete of the Week, she’s not the first in her family to head to St. Elizabeth’s.

“My mom went there and my grandma and my great aunt,” Fromm said. “But that’s not the reason I went there. When I walked on to campus, I had the same feelings as Mary Help, they were all so welcoming.”

Gabriella Fromm

Sport: Softball

School: Mary Help of Christians Academy

Class: Senior. Age: 17

Accomplishment: In three games Fromm went 10-10 including 10 RBIs, scored 10 runs and had four triples for the Blue Jays. She is the first girl from her school to be named Athlete of the Week.

Also nominated: Brooke Stellato of Wood-Ridge and Natalie Graham of Emerson for softball; Kayla Carrino of Lyndhurst and Layla Giordano of Old Tappan for track and field; MC Salter of Saddle River Day and Kaitlyn Verdesca of Waldwick for lacrosse; and Inha Jun of Holy Angels for golf.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Bergen Record Female Athlete of the Week: Gabriella Fromm, Mary Help