School: Upper Merion
Volleyball, Basketball
Favorite athlete: “My favorite athlete would probably have to be a tie between Kerri Walsh and Misty May, the women’s beach volleyball gold medalists.”
Favorite memory competing in sports: “I have two extremely awesome memories, which happened in the same year. The first is beating Unionville for the district title in volleyball and playing in the second round of playoffs against Spring-Field Delco. My all-time favorite memory in sports would have to be all the fans of Upper Merion. They are the reason why I will remember both my volleyball and basketball seasons forever.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: “The funniest moment would have to be my first basketball scrimmage as a freshman when one of my teammates shot the ball at the other team’s basket. Thankfully, it did not go in!”
Music on iPod: “I listen to all different types of music. I actually really enjoy older music like the Beatles.”
Future plans: “I am still undecided as to where I will attend school next year, but currently, I am between Elizabethtown College and Richard Stockton University where I will continue to play volleyball. I hope to study either occupational therapy or speech and pathology.”
Words to live by: “Never look down on anyone unless you are helping them up.” Jesse Jackson
One goal before turning 30: “I would like to have a steady career and possibly start a family, but most of all, I want to do something extremely special for my parents. Without them, I would be lost. They have helped me with everything over the past 18 years, and I know I can never really repay them, but I want to show them how much I truly appreciate them.”
One thing people don’t know about me: “I really want to learn how to play the ukulele.”
Alex Galdi has a perpetual smile on her face, and the best part about it - it’s genuine.
The Upper Merion senior, it seems, has a simple philosophy about this business called life.
“I feel as though I don’t even have the time to be miserable because it’s just not worth it,” Galdi said. “It’s really not who I am.”
This is one young student-athlete who doesn’t just talk the talk – she lives it.
“She has that demeanor about her of someone who is in control of who she is and what she wants, and that sort of plays into everyone else around her,” basketball coach Tom Schurtz said. “And she always smiles.”
“Alex is just a wonderful, wonderful person,” volleyball coach Tony Funston said. “At times, people say she’s too nice, but she has a great competitive edge to her as well.
“She treats everyone like they’re her best friend. I don’t know if Alex has an enemy in the world. I don’t think she has ever given anyone a reason not to like her – other than an opponent she blocks at the net.”
Funston goes on to recount a story Galdi’s seventh grade coach shared with him.
“He was saying how he was trying to get her to be meaner because one time she blocked a ball that hit somebody in the face and bloodied their nose, and Alex was distraught,” Funston said. “Her coach was telling her, ‘It’s not your fault. It’s part of the game. You can’t let it affect you.’”
Galdi has grown ‘tougher’ since that incident, but she’s still the first in line to lend a hand, and according to Schurtz, she is the consummate leader.
This season, the boys’ basketball coach caught the end of one of the Vikings’ late-season practices and, according to Schurtz, couldn’t believe what she saw.
“One of our younger post players was in the wrong position, and after I had talked, Alex actually walked over and showed her where she needed to be – this is natural for her,” the Vikings’ coach said. “The boys’ coach just laughed and said, ‘I’ve coached her for four years, and I have never seen one player do what she did right there.’
“Alex does it every day.”
Galdi admits she derives satisfaction out of working with the younger players and has especially enjoyed mentoring freshman standout Kristina O’Sullivan.
“When I was a freshman, I could not even imagine starting a varsity game ever,” she said. “I knew it would be hard for her, so I tried to really get her into it and keep her spirits up because that’s hard going from middle school to high school.
“It’s completely different, so I just always tried to keep her positive.”
That kind of leadership, according to Schurtz, doesn’t come along every day.
“Some players will yell, ‘Do this. Do that,’” the Vikings’ coach said. “Alex will actually teach her teammates where they need to be on the floor, what they need to be doing. She never yells.
“It’s very quiet and controlled, but the team really responds. To have somebody take a moment out of practice for 30 or 40 seconds and to show a teammate where they need to be – you don’t see that very often.”
Galdi has been playing sports for as long as she can remember, getting her start at summer camps put on by the Upper Merion Parks and Recreation. It was there she first was introduced to volleyball and also her future high school coach – Tony Funston - who works with the summer programs.
She attended Mother of Divine Providence and began playing CYO basketball and volleyball in fifth grade, and she never stopped.
A four-year starter in volleyball, she was a key part of three consecutive American Conference championship squads that did not lose in league play during that span.
“Alex isn’t the greatest athlete in the world, but she’s a great player,” Funston said. “She can do a lot of things.”
Galdi confirmed that early in her career when – with both varsity setters out with injuries – she even filled in as setter.
“She has a variety of volleyball skills,” Funston said. “When she was younger, her strong suit was blocking, but then she became a much better attacker.
“Sometimes when kids become better attackers their blocking becomes secondary to them, but she has the ability to be a great blocker and a very, very good right side hitter. She can handle second balls very comfortably.”
This year – for the first time – Galdi played all the way around. She earned first team all-league and second team all-district honors.
“She’s not a great all-around player, but she’s a great competitor, and sometimes that’s more important in your team makeup because the kids could depend on the competitiveness of the person they’re playing with,” Funston said. “You could always count on her competitiveness.
“If there was a big match and a big play, she wouldn’t shy away from it.”
Galdi played on the highly competitive club circuit with the Valley Forge club volleyball squad, but she opted to give it up this year.
“I did it for three years, and this year I said, ‘I can’t,’” she said. “I actually wanted to really enjoy basketball my senior year and not be totally wiped out because I would go from basketball to (club) volleyball. It was just a lot.”
There were also those Saturday tournaments after a 7:30 a.m. basketball practice.
“I love it, but I was like, ‘I feel like I’m getting really old,’” Galdi said. “I was tired all the time.”
This year, without club volleyball, Galdi threw herself into basketball.
“It felt so much different because that was all I was focusing on,” she said. “I didn’t have to worry about getting to volleyball.
“When I was playing volleyball – during basketball practice, I would be like, ‘I don’t know how I’m going to do it.’
“This year I put all of my energy into one thing, and I really liked it a lot more. I appreciated the coaches and my teammates. It was just much more fun.”
A three-year starter, Galdi – according to her coach – was an undersized post player.
“It’s difficult, particularly since there are so many good players in the league,” Schurtz said. “I think one thing that was undervalued all year is she’s a tremendous post defender, and that’s just a credit to how hard she’s worked over the last three eyars.
“She’s at a point now where she can defend players who are much bigger than she is physically. She’s so persistent, and she’s always aware of being in the proper defensive position.”
A second team all-league selection, Galdi averaged 10 points and nine rebounds and was an iron woman under the basket for the Vikings. During one particularly grueling stretch this year of five games in a row, Galdi played every minute of all five games.
“She works so hard, and every trip she is able to execute things really well,” Schurtz said. “She’s one of those players where, at the end of the game, you’re like, ‘Why was Upper Merion in this game?’ Well, there it is. She’s just very steady. We’re going to miss her next year.”
If she only competed in sports, Galdi would stand out in a crowd, but that is just the tip of the iceberg for a young lady who is the consummate student-athlete.
Galdi, a member of the National Honor Society, takes a full course load of AP classes.
For her senior project, she is working with the district’s middle school speech therapist – an interest that was sparked, at least in part, by the youngest of her three younger siblings.
“He has a little bit of a speech problem, like most little kids do,” she said. “I never thought of that as a career, but I thought it might be a nice thing.
“One day a week I observe Mrs. Larkins, and she can’t really teach me, but she gives me suggestions, and I tell her my ideas.”
Galdi has also developed lesson plans to work with her brother and record his progress.
“He’s six, and it’s hard to make him listen to me,” she said with a laugh.
She may be undeclared her freshman year but is seriously considering majoring in occupational therapy or speech and pathology. She plans to continue her volleyball career at the collegiate level and is deciding between Richard Stockton University and Elizabethtown College.
Galdi walks away from her high school career with only fond memories.
“I don’t know what I would have done without sports,” she said. “I have met the best people ever, and I’m going to always be great friends with them.
“They’re the people I hung out with the most really.
Galdi also has special memories of a student fan base that is second to none for both volleyball and girls’ basketball.
“We’re not very good at most sports,” she said. “In our school, we have a lot of fans that go and watch the games.
“When volleyball ended, I was so upset because I didn’t know if college sports would be like that, and I will miss all the support our friends give us. All during school, we would talk about the games and the theme nights. It was so much fun. Everyone got into it, and it meant a lot.”
While Galdi will miss her high school– her teammates, her coaches and her fans, it’s a safe bet they also will miss her
“She’s bright, she’s pleasant, and she just carries herself in a very nice way,” Funston said. “I can’t develop what Alex was – that’s family, that’s personality, that’s the whole shooting match, and I’ll take credit for not messing her up.
“She really is that nice, and it’s not an act. We’re going to miss her.”
