Giavanna Smiley is a junior at Struthers High School who plays softball. She most often plays third base, but she can also play anywhere in the outfield. She can also catch for the team. She has been playing the last eleven years for both school and travel softball. The player does prefer travel.
Winning feels electric for the player. It doesn’t matter to her about the size of the win; she gains the adrenaline rush no matter what. When she loses, it’s very draining and upsetting for her. She feels a rollercoaster of emotions after a loss.
Playing softball all year round provides Smiley with several blessings.
“The benefits of playing for the school is being able to see my friends I go to school with and get more reps for the summer season coming up. The benefits of my travel team is getting recognition from college coaches and making friends that’ll last a lifetime,” says Smiley.
Smiley’s favorite part of softball is the memories she makes. She has played for years with many girls, at many places and with a million memories. Her least favorite part is the mental aspect. It’s very hard for softball players to get out of slumps which make the mental parts difficult.
Smiley’s best achievement was winning a special award.
“I think my biggest accomplishment is winning the NE8 Honorable Mention Offensive Player of the Year in 2025,” says Smiley.
She is motivated to continue playing softball for the final year in order to make her parents proud. She’s scared and unprepared for the final year, but she believes she can do it. For senior season, she plans to gain more power and hit many home runs. She feels doubtful for senior season. She’s excited to play, but she’s sad for when it ends.
Playing the sport all year round gives Smiley a multitude of recollections.
“I have two favorite softball memories; one of them is my Tennessee trip we took last April. It was so fun, and it brought the whole team together. My second favorite is playing with my old travel team in Cedar Point, under the lights in the championship game, and it was our last ever game together. The game was electric. Everyone was hitting, making diving plays and throwing people out from the outfield. We played with everything in us that game, and we ended up winning 1st place out of 52 teams,” says Smiley.
Smiley would like to play collegiate softball. Educationally, she wants to attend either Ohio State or Florida Atlantic for pre-med.
