Sports Extra: Albanie Cordova, more than an athlete

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- Albanie Cordova just wrapped up a dominant softball season with Pueblo County, helping the hornets to the state quarterfinals. She was all-state honorable mention, and she’ll be playing college softball next year. That’s quite a series of accomplishments for a player who just last season sat out the entire year.

“I was honestly crying all the time," Cordova says as she reflects on the last year.

Sitting out wasn’t the plan. Cordova was a star at pueblo south as a sophomore. She was an all-state player, and a candidate for Pueblo County’s softball player of the year.

But she never played her junior year with the Colts. Cordova left Pueblo South after issues with the coaching staff, and she realized she needed to focus on her mental health.

“My journey just in general advocate advocating for mental health, it began my junior year," Cordova says. I've played softball my entire life, but I felt my junior year, I felt that my identity in life was taken away from me because of the... thoughtlessness of a particular coach.”

“I didn't want it to tear my confidence down, and I knew that I needed to step away from something that I've played my whole life just so that I could love the game again. It was really hard for me to understand that my mental health came first. It was hard for me to step away from the game, and not play my junior year. It honestly crushed me. But, I felt that my mental health came first."

Taking the time off to focus on her mental health wasn’t always easy. After all, softball is part of who she is.

“Watching everyone else play that season, it really broke my heart. I couldn't even get on social media or like see anything. I would cry about it, and it was really hard for me that year.”

But Cordova's time was well spent. She’s a senior at Pueblo County high school, and enrolled in dual credit courses at Pueblo Community College. She then became president of the Student Government Association, with the goal of making mental health awareness a part of campus life. She got involved with Morgan's Message, an organization dedicated to mental health services for athletes in honor of a college athlete who committed suicide.

"There [were] a lot of suicides in our community last year, and that really opened my eyes to see that other people are dealing with mental health and they didn't speak up. I wanted to advocate for other people so that doesn't happen.”

And Morgan's message is one Cordova wants everyone to hear.

“The human is greater than the athlete. I think that's very true. Some people let their sport define them. I've always played softball... I guess I kind of let it define me, but I realized that it doesn't define me. I'm a student. I'm an athlete. I'm an advocate. I'm just so much more than that. I think people don't realize that their sport doesn't define them. Their self defines them, their inner self. So, I think people forget that a lot.”

Cordova is available on campus for her classmates to talk with her. She has her own office ours, and an open line of communication.

And now, she has softball again. After a few weeks, she got back on the field.

"I would go practice with my dad in my off time. Just being back on the field felt really good. I love hitting. It's like my favorite. So doing that really gave me relief, and kind of took my mind off things for a little bit."

She played for Pueblo Country for her senior year, saying she felt welcomed and accepted. In addition to becoming an active mental health advocate, she dominated on the softball field.

“At the time it felt like the world was just crashing down on me. I can't thank this team enough, and my parents enough, and my little brother definitely supported me through it. He'd always give me a hug every day and say, 'It's okay, sister.' I just hope that I could be an advocate for people who can't stand up for themselves, and for the younger girls that play softball. I hope I can be a role model for them."

Her mission isn’t complete. She wants to be a dermatologist, and will be terrorizing opposing pitchers throughout college at Florida National University. She continues to be an advocate for mental health awareness, trying to tear down the stigma around it.

"I think people, especially my age, high schoolers, they're embarrassed to speak up about their mental health. It's a really serious topic, and they don't understand how serious it is. To keep it in is more detrimental than speaking out about it. I'm able to advocate for people who experience mental health firsthand because I know what it feels like to just have those specific feelings, and be afraid to speak up. But it's so much better to speak up and to keep it within."