By RICH FISHER
Contributing Editor
March 30, 2022, was a day of discovery for Frank Sinatra, when a medical emergency threatened his very life. Since that night, his relationship with God was cemented, and has become a daily touchstone.
“Everything [I went through] has taught me to learn more about myself [and] more about my faith,” Sinatra said.
Now a senior at Red Bank Catholic, Sinatra has embraced both faith and opportunity. As Caseys center, he was named a Shore Conference All-Division offensive lineman. He recently committed to play football and continue his education and religious practice at Salve Regina, a Roman Catholic university in Newport, R.I.
Sinatra has been named by the Trustees of the Shore Football Coaches Foundation as RBC’s Vince Lombardi Lineman Award recipient. He will be honored at the May 15 awards banquet that recognizes the top football lineman from each high school team in Monmouth and Ocean counties.
None of it came easy for the parishioner of St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, Freehold.
As an 11-year-old his flaring appendix kept him in bed at least once a month “with this terrible pain that stopped me from walking, breathing and standing.”
His problem was misdiagnosed and for three years the issue continued. On March 30 of his freshman year, he could barely get out of bed. By that evening in Red Bank’s Riverview Medical Center, Dr. David Dupree diagnosed a ruptured appendix that needed immediate surgery due to rapidly spreading inflammation.
Red Bank Catholic senior Frank Sinatra, #58, has persevered through appendicitis and sports injuries, relying on his faith in God to keep him grounded. Photo by Jennifer Harms/jharmsphotography.com
The gravity was such that Dupree told Sinatra’s parents the best-case scenario would be to put Frank in a coma if he even survived the operation.
Several hours after the procedure, he awoke, walked himself to the bathroom and amazed the hospital staff.
“I was blessed with Dr. Dupree, he was a miracle worker,” Sinatra said.
Frank then turned to the ultimate miracle worker.
“That night I started to find my faith,” he said. “That was the wake-up call. It all starts with who you know and the most important person to know in this life, I believe, is my Lord savior. I haven’t looked back since.”
Flash forward to February 2024. While in training, Sinatra tore his meniscus and eventually suffered slight tears in his ACL and MCL. He opted against surgery in order to play his senior season.
“I prayed every single morning, every single night,” he said. “I needed to know if I was doing the right thing.”
Sinatra played outstanding despite the injuries. Toward the end of the year, he dislocated his kneecap against Donovan Catholic yet continued to play in excruciating pain.
Reflecting on the season he lauded the support of his teammates, coaches and parents. When he needed a break in practice, head coach Mike Lange – one of the first to call Sinatra after his appendix surgery – and his assistants obliged.
“He stuck with me,” Sinatra said. “It may have been hard to move in practice, but he knew I would lose my knee before I came out of a game.
While his courage was impressive, Frank began to feel he was doing it for the wrong reasons.
“It was selfish because I needed to see the work that I put in pay off for me,” he said. “Now I know that’s not the right way to look at it. The more I dive into my faith, I realize I don’t need any glory. I’m playing for an audience of one.”
He honors God as a member of RBC’s Catholic Athletes for Christ and Fellowship of Christian Athletes, which made him a finalist for the Sam Mills Award.
Working CAC diaper drives, food drives and numerous other charitable events, “got me to understand so many people in the world need help. But even when they have nothing, they have Jesus Christ, and they truly walk like they have everything. It changes your life because you’re able to help them.”
Aided by RBC assistants Tony Flego (who runs CAC) and Harry Flaherty, Sinatra has become more diligent in prayer and reading the Bible.
“If you’re being honest with God in your prayers you can’t really mess that up,” he said. “For me the largest part in bettering my personal faith is reading my Bible in more depth.” Instead of glossing over the confusing parts, he forces himself to find the answers. “You miss so much of your faith when you don’t try to understand what is truly being said.”
Sinatra even approaches strangers in public, asking them to pray with him.
“It was stepping out of my comfort zone,” he said. “You never know what people are feeling with their faith. So, I think asking to pray with and for people, it’s a large jump for me.”
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