RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
Mia Galella is a first baseman/outfielder noted for being one of the top power hitters in the Class of 2025. Earlier this summer, she was ranked in the Top 25 of the Extra Elite 100 as we profiled her with this bio:
T-24—Mia Galella, 1B, Virginia Glory National – Mertz
Mia is one of the the strongest and most naturally gifted players in her 2025 class. She is a dangerous longball threat who regularly hits balls 275-to-300 feet. “Mia’s speed on the base paths is what really opens eyes,” says Head Coach Mike Mertz. She was the only starting freshman on her Holy Cross (Pa.) High school team and has led her team in batting average (.541), hits, on-base percentage, home runs and RBIs. Mia also takes pride in her strength, unofficially breaking the Pennsylvania female deadlift record as a 15-year-old with an amazing 415 pound lift (note: it is unofficial since it did not occur in a sanctioned meet but at her gym). Mia has garnered the attention of multiple ACC, Big Ten and SEC schools.
We first profiled her in an Extra Star Power article published in March 2020 titled: 2025 Power Hitter Mia Galella Has “Freakish Power” & Runs Well Too!
Mia–who starts her sophomore year of high school on Monday at Holy Cross High in Dunmore, Pennsylvania–has been a long-time blogger for Extra Inning Softball and, last weekend, she took a campus visit to the University of Virginia and came away very impressed with one particular session dealing with mental health.
She shares her thoughts here and says: “I feel this blog is the most important one I’ve written so far.”
*****
I attended the University of Virginia softball camp the weekend of August 20-21 and it wasn’t your normal camp.
Head Coach Jo Hardin brought in a mental health advocate, Archie Messersmith-Bunting, M.S., MHFA, who is known as “The Feelings Guy.” He is an international keynote speaker and a mental health educator while also being known as a “Feelings Expert.”
During the weekend and, as part of the Virginia camp, we had great softball drill work and scrimmages along with going over specific defensive coverages, but the mental health session of the camp was so much more than I imagined as provided so much insight regarding mental health of student athletes.
When JMU softball player Lauren Bernett died by suicide last April, it sent a shockwave through the softball community. More and more people within the softball community began to talk about the mental health of college athletes.
As part of the session with Archie, I learned what signs to look for in someone who may be suffering mentally and emotionally. Mental health has a stigma and people are afraid to ask questions and talk about it, but it needs to be talked about to try to prevent another tragedy.
Think about it: if someone was hurt physically, you would ask if they needed help. If you see someone not acting like themselves, you need to offer help too.
One quote from the session that really stuck with me was when he said:
“I believe that if we change the way we greet and interact with each other every day, we can begin to save lives.”
Archie also said that anxiety doesn’t have to be your enemy because everyone gets anxious. He recommended that for the first 30-to-40 minutes of our day, we should reclaim the morning and not watch anything or do anything that causes anxiety, like going on a cell phone or watching the news.
I’m grate to those at Virginia, especially Coach Jo, for including this very important topic at the softball camp. I know it opened my eyes on how to be more aware of those around me who may need my help.
— Mia