Galeazzi prepared to help Salve Regina soccer progress

It can be a long summer for college athletes. For many, classes end in May and don?t resume until September. The long break presents both a challenge to stay in shape and an opportunity to prepare themselves for the upcoming season.
Lynn Classical graduate and soon-to-be sophomore at Salve Regina University in Newport, R.I., Francesca Galeazzi has plenty on her plate as a two-sport athlete. Galeazzi wrapped up her freshman softball season with the Seahawks in the spring and is now getting ready for her second soccer season this fall.
Although softball is her primary sport, soccer is less than a month away. Galeazzi has made an effort to split her time between the two sports this summer. She?s played softball in the MiddleEssex League and just finished up a season in an informal soccer league with women from college age to over 30.
These summer months are a crucial time for Galeazzi and other college athletes to get their bodies prepared for the rigorous seasons ahead. Galeazzi is training to pass the rigorous physical tests that are required to make the soccer team, including a seven-minute mile and timed sprints.
?I?ve taken a lot of time this summer to train for those tests,” Galeazzi said. “I?ll be out at the field doing drills by myself. It?s a necessity to stay in shape over the summer.”
But finding organized and competitive leagues for young women in which to compete has been a challenge for Galeazzi this summer. After spending the school year in Rhode Island, picking up where she left off in Lynn wasn?t easy, and she found that many leagues had already started or were filled.
However, Galeazzi has found plenty of ways to keep her skills sharp. She spent a week coaching girls from 7 to 17 years old at the Diamonds in the Rough softball camp in July, run by her former Classical softball skipper Chris Warren.
Contributing her time to helping out with the camp was something Galeazzi — an English communications major who was president of the National Honor Society at Classical — felt was important not just for herself, but also for the young softball players attending the camp.
?(Warren) likes to bring some of his players back and show us off,” Galeazzi said, with a laugh. “But I think it?s good for the girls to have someone more relatable to look up to. There are a lot of dads helping out with the camp, so having (someone my age) is good to give the girls an example of a successful player.”
Galeazzi is focused on her upcoming soccer season, and is ready to step up and take on a leadership role with the team. She?s earned it. In 14 soccer games, with three starts, for the Seahawks last year she scored six goals. In softball she was the Commonwealth Coast Conference?s rookie of the year. In 40 games she hit .451, going 51-for-113, with a .483 on-base percentage and .460 slugging percentage.
?I definitely think this year will feel completely different,” she said. “Coming in as a freshman, I had no idea what to expect. But this year it will be easier to prepare and I?ll feel more comfortable.
?Last year, I was kind of quiet and shy. But now I won?t be afraid to speak up.”
Though Salve Regina soccer struggled last year, ending with a 3-13 record, Galeazzi is excited to help the program continue its forward progress, and is accustomed to being a part of building a program. At Classical she was a four-year varsity athlete on the soccer, basketball and softball teams.
?When I started (playing soccer) at Classical, we were horrible the first year, but we built the program up,” she said. “So I?m not afraid of that obstacle. No program is perfect, and I like that we have to work for everything and nothing is handed to us. We?re definitely a work in progress.”