Dave Picariello is a junior at Father Judge with an interest in multimedia and photography. All season, he served as the photographer for the Crusaders baseball team, which won a Catholic League championship, a District 12 championship and a state championship. Picariello also took photos of other teams at the school.
He’s also quite the writer, and shared with us what it was like following this team around this year.
Here are his thoughts. For more of his work, follow him on Instagram @daves_captures.
By Dave Picariello
@daves_captures
Being the photographer for the team has been great, being able to see all of this first hand and capture it has been an honor. Everyone will agree that watching the team the entire year has been electric, but being able to photograph them and their journey is an entirely different feeling. I always try to bring a feeling to my photos, however in this case the team did my job for me.
There is something about their story, the way they overcame doubt and exceeded expectations that is ingrained in the way they play. From the first pitch to the last out, the Crusaders transformed into something bigger than themselves. They became greater than the sum of their parts.
The pictures I took of this team were special, not because of the angles I got or the camera I have. They were special because every moment this team played baseball, they were teeming with energy. They were overflowing with determination, they radiated hopefulness. They knew they had a good thing and they never doubted that for a moment even when others did.
While there is a feeling of shock to this big win, the Crusaders’ story should not be confused with an underdog story. The team played with the same intoxicating energy from the very first game to the very last.
They always knew they were this good, all they did was make sure no one would ever forget it.
