Basketball
Favorite athlete: Michael Jordan
Favorite team: Villanova men’s basketball
Favorite memory competing in sports: Upsetting Ridley in districts last year
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: On the way back from our first state game last year, our bus driver made a wrong turn and we ended up in New Jersey
Music on playlist: Country
Future plans: Attend James Madison University and study health sciences
Words to live by: “Everything happens for a reason.”
One goal before turning 30: Become an occupational therapist
One thing people don’t know about me: I like to bake
By Mary Jane Souder
Mia Salvati has quietly and without fanfare been a major contributor to the success of the Central Bucks East basketball team.
In the Patriots’ recent win over Pennsbury, the senior point guard put up Ben Simmons-like numbers, coming within two rebounds of a triple double. Salvati finished with 11 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds, but nobody really noticed. Not even her coach.
“The last couple of years we’ve use Hudl Assist,” said East coach Liz Potash of a program that sends game statistics the following day. “We don’t keep stats on the bench, so we watch what the game flow is, and I always have a feel after the game when kids have a good game, but when I woke up the next morning and saw the complete breakdown of the Pennsbury game – that’s an unbelievable stat line.
“Mia had a hand in 33 of the points that our team scored out of 44, and I know a couple of those were 3s. She just does so much for us, but you don’t necessarily notice it. It’s not flashy. She gets the job done, and it’s just a steady game.”
Potash admits she thought of the Ben Simmons comparison when she saw Salvati’s stat line.
“I actually didn’t want to compare her to Ben Simmons because Mia’s got a real nice outside shot, and she takes it,” the Patriots’ coach said. “She definitely has had games where she has been our high scorer, but she generally just gets the job done.
“I don’t take it for granted because it’s very tough to play without a point guard. We’ve had years where you have to have someone run the point, but she is a point guard in every sense.”
A two-year captain, the soft-spoken Salvati has grown into the role of vocal leader.
“I don’t really talk that much,” the East senior said. “Obviously, as a captain, you have to be a role model and a leader for the underclassmen.
“I slowly came out of my shell. Basketball has definitely helped with that.”
The change has not been lost on Potash.
“She’s become way more vocal than she used to be,” the Patriots’ coach said. “She was so quiet. I think the first two years of the program I hardly heard her talk.
“Last year, she was a captain and talked a little bit more, and towards the second half of the season, I let her call the plays, which I don’t usually do, but she’d been around so long, and she sees things on the floor. I said, ‘You make the call. If there’s anything I want, I’ll call it, but if not, it’s all you.’ She became such a smart player and has such a good feel for the game and just totally controls the game for us.”
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Salvati got her first taste of basketball in kindergarten with CBAA (Central Bucks Athletic Association).
“Someone I went to elementary school with – her mom asked if I was going to be playing basketball and told my parent they should sign me up for intramurals, and they did,” Salvati said. “I just liked the constant movement of it, the energy and the speed.
“I also had coaches growing up that really helped me fall in love with the game and develop a love for the game.”
Although she dabbled in other sports when she was younger – she played field hockey, softball, baseball, lacrosse and even was a cheerleader for a year, none of them stuck for long.
In fourth grade, Salvati tried out for the travel team, and in eighth grade, she joined Heat Hoops on the AAU travel circuit and remained with the Upper Makefield squad until her final season this year.
When she arrived in high school, Salvatai was one of two freshman swing players.
“I’ve known Mia forever,” Potash said. “When she wasn’t in the program, she was coming to camp, and the one thing with Mia that we always knew – she sees the floor so unbelievably well.
“She didn’t get a lot of varsity time as a freshman – it was just a matter of waiting until she caught up to the speed of the game at that level. By her sophomore year, she was playing a ton.”
Salvati earned second team all-league honors as a junior, but with the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no guarantee she’d even have a senior season.
“I was pretty doubtful just because of everything that had already gone on with AAU,” she said. “The first two-week shutout (mandated by the state) where we couldn’t practice – it tested your dedication and your motivation to the game and really made you question whether you wanted to put yourself through it to get a season that would be shorter and different than we had in the past.
“I think we’re all just grateful to be playing, especially given the circumstances. Besides (wearing) the masks, it seems normal. “
The Patriots – winners of their first seven games – are atop the SOL Colonial Division standings, a position Salvati has helped her team secure.
“She can shoot the ball, she sees the floor, she handles the ball really well, and she’s a really smart defensive helper,” Potash said. “She’s just a good teammate, and the kids respond well to her.”
The reality that her final season is coming down the home stretch hit home during the team’s recent Senior Night.
“It didn’t feel real – I feel as though I was just a freshman the other day,” Salvati said. “Basketball has added a lot to my high school experience. It gives you something to focus on besides academics, and it’s kind of cliché, but it gives you your friends and something to just enjoy.”
Salvatti also excels in the classroom and is a member of the National Honor Society.
In the fall, she will be attending James Madison University where she hopes to play club basketball. She will major in health sciences with a goal of becoming an occupational therapist.
“I really like working with kids, and through doing research, it looks like occupational therapy will give me that opportunity,” she said.
Salvati’s enjoyment working with children was underscored when it came time to choose her favorite basketball memory for her team’s Senior Night celebration. She didn’t name a big win or a big performance but rather seeing her team of young campers win the championship at East’s annual camp for the community.
“She’s a really good kid,” Potash said. “We were always excited about her coming into the program because of what I saw when she was younger, but she’s just gotten better every year.
“She’s very kind, she’s a very good teammate. She keeps everything organized for us, and she communicates with the rest of the team when there’s something going on. She does so much for us. She’s a good kid from a good family.”
