It’s full speed ahead for Diane Quattrone as she sails
into the Hightstown High School Sports Hall of Fame
By: Neil Hay
It’s full speed ahead for Diane Quattrone as she sails
into the Hightstown High School Sports Hall of Fame.
Quattrone, Hightstown Class of 1992 and a graduate of the
United States Naval Academy, is among the newest group of Hall of Fame
inductees.
As an anchor on the Rams competitive soccer and softball
teams of the late ’80s and early ’90s, Quattrone played sweeper for head
coaches Dominic Mastroianni and Don Hess on the varsity soccer team for
four years. She was also a pitcher and third baseman with coach Sam
Sortino’s varsity softball team for four seasons.
"We did okay," Quattrone said. "We were competitive."
In her junior and senior years Quattrone was selected
Hightstown Female Athlete of the Year. For her prowess on the soccer field
she was named among the top 50 players in the state in her sophomore,
junior and seniors years. She was All-CVC and team MVP in her final two
years, and was soccer team captain in her senior year. When softball season
rolled around Quattrone was an all-CVC player her senior year and team
captain in her junior and senior springs.
Asked what she remembered most about playing sports at
Hightstown, Quattrone replied, "There was a lot of camaraderie. And in
soccer, beating Steinert.
"There was always a feeling you had some place to go,"
said Quattrone of her athletic playing days. "Everyone was your friend.
After school there was always someone to go to."
Quattrone accepted an appointment to the Naval Academy
and in 1996 graduated with a BS degree in English and a commission as an
ensign. At the Academy she was one of 400 women in a total enrollment of
4000 midshipmen.
"It was not more of a challenge" for a woman than a man,
said Quattrone of her days at Anapolis. "We were treated the same. We did
have more opportunities in that there were clubs to support each other.
There was that ‘been there, done that’ where the women could share their
experiences. Unlike the men, we had the same roommates for all four years.
A close bond developed with the girls you went through the Academy with."
After graduation from the Naval Academy Ensign Quattrone
worked in the public affairs office of the Naval War College in Newport,
Rhode Island, then was assigned as a surface warfare officer on the USS
Germantown, an LSD42 whose homeport was Sasabo, Japan. Quattrone, who was
promoted to Lieutenant (Junior Grade) in 1998 and to Lieutenant two months
ago, served with the Germantown from 1996 to 2000, then this June was
transferred to Amphibious Squadron 6, based in Norfolk, Virginia, where she
will serve as a supporting arms coordinator.
Quattrone is unsure if she will make the service her
career. But right now the Navy is not just a job but an adventure.
"I don’t know," said Quattrone, when asked if she will
make the navy her career. "I’ll need a couple more years to decide. Right
now it is pretty promising.
"I love the Navy. To know that my boss (the captain of
her ship) believes in me so much that he would trust the ship and its crew
to me means so much. He has been in the Navy for 22 years and says ‘I
believe in you so much that you take charge.’ I am responsible for so many
duties. To know your boss with so much experience says ‘Go for it, you’ve
got what it takes.’ I like to be in charge. It gives you a lot of pride in
yourself."
Today’s Navy presents a great opportunity for women like
Diane Quattrone for personal advancement, responsibility and
accomplishment.
"You might have to prove yourself to ‘Old School’ Navy
men. But when your commanding officer says some of his best officers are
female, it really puts it in perspective. You are held in the same regard
as male officers. It is not like the 1980s. There is a women’s attitude, a
women’s touch, in certain things that really shine through. Women are
changing naval traditions in that respect. The opportunity is tremendous.
There is no limit where a male or female could go."
An example of those changes in tradition is when
Quattrone recently married on June 24th, it was not to a Navy man but to a
civilian, Jeffrey Florence. In the not-too-distant past the female would
have married a Navy man. And stayed home when he shipped out to sea. Now,
when Quattrone is called to sea duty, her husband will stay behind. In
addition to her new husband, Quattrone has two step-daughters – 10-year old
Brittany and 6-year old Angela.
The Naval Academy taught Quattrone "a lot about myself,
what I wanted from life and what I had to do to get there." Sports was part
of Quattrone’s daily life at the Academy. She played two years of soccer –
one at the club level, another on the varsity. She also played club
softball for four years.
Because of her travel in the Navy, Quattrone finds it
difficult to remain in touch with her former teammates. Her parents Judy
and Larry still live in Hightstown and they help keep her up-to-date on the
comings and goings in town. Quattrone’s younger sister, Debra, is also a
Hightstown and Naval Academy grad and is an officer in the Marines.
Youngest sister Darlene, who graduated Hightstown this spring, will attend
Rutgers in the fall.
As far as making the Hightstown Sports Hall of Fame, "I
was flattered," said Quattrone. "When you think about a Hall of Fame, you
think of someone with a long career. It is not many years since I’ve been
out of Hightstown. I was very flattered."
However flattered and pleased she is to be in the Hall of
Fame, Quattrone is unsure if she can return home for the induction
ceremonies in the fall. She is scheduled to be at sea from October 6th to
the 18th on board the USS Kearsage, a landing helicopter assault ship. And
as Quattrone can attest, duty and service comes first. Even ahead of the
Hightstown Sports Hall of Fame.