"She has a huge heart": Council Rock North basketball player aids community, her family

As the oldest of seven children, Frannie Boyle is used to soothing her younger siblings’ tears.

She’s even shed plenty on their behalf. For example, when her sister Josie Boyle tore her ACL earlier this season.

It was an all-too familiar feeling for the Council Rock North senior, who had just returned to the basketball court after her own ACL tear.

“Josie was so upset, and it broke my heart to see it,” said Boyle. “She hates physical therapy, but I push her to go because I know how important it is. Once you get past the hard part, it gets much easier.”

Boyle has even shed a few tears on the basketball court — but for a much different reason.

While she was sidelined with her own injuries, Boyle began volunteering with Athletes Helping Athletes, a nonprofit that connects local athletes with special needs with mainstream student-athletes.

It all started two years ago, when Boyle witnessed a moment she’ll never forget.

“A senior with disabilities, Megan Bissol, would come to all our games and was a team manager,” Boyle recalled. “On Senior Night, she dressed in uniform and was able to play. When she scored, the crowd went crazy. It made me tear up, not only because I was happy for Megan, but because I was thinking about my brother, and how much he would love to have a crowd cheering for him like that.”

Boyle’s brother, Gavin Boyle, an eighth-grader who was born with Down syndrome, is an athlete just like his big sister. Maybe even more so.

“He’s played almost every sport but he’s really into football now,” said Boyle.

Boyle, who also volunteers as a coach for Council Rock Basketball Association youth camps, was admittedly hoping that Gavin would be the Boyle family’s next hoops star.

“I love working with the younger kids at the camps and teaching them how to shoot and dribble,” Boyle said. “My brother wasn’t really into basketball, but he loves going to my games. The whole gym knows when he is in the stands, and my teammates love him.”

Making a lasting impact with Athletes Helping Athletes

But through AHA, Boyle has been able to make an impact. In addition to volunteering at special events, Boyle has enjoyed working with honorary captains hosted by the school.

“When I was injured, I was able to spend a lot of time with the honorary captains,” Boyle said. “I’d walk them onto the court, introduce everyone, and sit with them during the game. I really wanted to make sure they were comfortable and enjoying themselves.”

This year, Boyle is back on the court, and as a team captain, she applies the lessons she learned.

“I consider my captain’s role as more of an off-the-court presence,” Boyle said. “If one of the girls is having trouble with something, they come to me.”

“Frannie is just a great person,” said coach John Kelly. “She has a huge heart, and she makes every room she walks into a brighter place.”

On the court, Boyle’s main role is as a post player, and you don’t need to look too far to see how the 6-foot-1 center inherited her talent. Her mother, Lisa Jakubowicz Boyle, a 1998 Conwell-Egan grad and 2014 Sports Hall of Fame inductee, was a four-year starting center for Temple University.

Today, mother and daughter are both coaches for Heat Hoops AAU, with Frannie leading the 10th-grade spring/summer team. The entire Boyle family — minus brother Dan, who had a wrestling meet — was on hand for Senior Night, where Boyle was instrumental in leading the Indians to a win.

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“I was really looking forward to Senior Night and really wanted to win,” Boyle said. “Not just for me, but for our team. This team is the closest one I’ve ever been on. We even have team sleepovers.”

It wasn’t always smooth sailing for Boyle, who has been playing basketball since second grade and would like to continue playing in college if it’s the right fit. Boyle injured her knee as a freshman, and a misdiagnosis led to ongoing issues as she tried to play through the pain. In the fall of her junior year, Boyle suffered a devastating injury.

“It happened at the worst possible time, during a family soccer game,” Boyle recalled with a laugh. “Not only did I tear my ACL, but my meniscus was basically destroyed and had to be removed with surgery.”

Boyle was back on the court in time for opening day, and is now helping sister Josie, a junior, through her ACL rehab. In addition to being a good sister, it’s good practice for Boyle’s desired future career in pediatric nursing.

“I definitely want to work with kids,” Boyle said. “Before nursing, I was thinking about special education, as my mom is a special education assistant for non-verbal children.”

Boyle, not surprisingly, is her neighborhood’s go-to babysitter, and she will spend her summer working at a neighborhood waffles-and-ice cream shop. Before that, though, Boyle is hoping to make the playoffs for the first time in her high school career. On Saturday, Boyle had a career-high 8 points as CR North upset CB East.

But even if CR North — 26th in the district standings, with 24 teams making the playoffs — falls short, she won’t let that define her senior season.

“I don’t want my legacy to be about what I did on the court,” Boyle said. “I want to make a positive impact on the younger girls and help them to love the game.

“It’s about so much more than basketball.”

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Council Rock North girls basketball star lends a hand to her community