'The human is greater than the athlete': County softball player is a mental health advocate

Softball has been a major part of Albanie Cordova’s life — since she was young, she’s been a dominant player on the field.

In 20 games played for Pueblo County High School this season, Cordova has had 26 hits, 30 RBIs and three home runs.

Despite her passion for the game, Cordova’s softball career was put on hold when she realized she needed to prioritize her mental health and well-being over being an athlete.

“My journey of advocating for mental health began my junior year of high school,” Cordova said. “I had played softball my entire life, but my junior year I felt as though my life and identity (were) taken away from me due to the inconsideration and thoughtlessness of a particular coach I entrusted in.”

Prior to her junior year of high school, Cordova was named Colorado High School 4A All-State for softball, All South-Central League First Team, South-Central League batting champion and was a Pueblo County Softball Player of the Year nominee all in 2021.

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Although she had major success playing the sport her sophomore year she knew she still had to take time away from the game her junior year to remember why softball matters so much to her.

“It was extremely difficult to step away from the game, a game I played my whole life,” Cordova said.

“I lost the love for the game and had to find my way back to the little girl who began playing softball. I had to rediscover why I love the game and the positive impacts it has made in my life.

“My message is simple, the human is greater than the athlete. This message is so impactful because it is not about striking out or bobbling a ball, the impact is much greater than this.

“It is about being considerate to the person next to you whether you’re an adult or a student. You never know what the person standing next to you is going through or dealing with in their life.

“The stories need to be told, the messages need to be shared and the leadership needs to act.”

Cordova explained that the quote, “The human is greater than the athlete,” “…originated from Morgan’s Message.

“It’s about how… being a human first is much more than being an athlete. You’re not defined by your sport, you’re defined by your individual self.

“And always remember that you come first.”

Cordova talked about how she found out about Morgan’s Message stating, “I learned about Morgan’s Message when I came across it on Instagram and Twitter.

“It is a truly inspiring non-profit organization that I knew I wanted to be a part of. I signed up and now I am an ambassador for Morgan’s Message.”

Cordova is a senior at County High, a full-time concurrent enrollment student at Pueblo Community College, as well as the Associated Student Government President at PCC. It was as the President of ASG that she felt encouraged to share her story with others.

She mentioned, “I was inspired to begin truly advocating for mental health awareness when I was selected as the student body president at Pueblo Community College.

“The position has given me a platform to bring the community together and advocate for mental health awareness.

“In Pueblo last year we had several student-athletes that committed suicide. This topic has been more prevalent in college with collegiate athletes.

“The devastation that has transpired in the last few years in our community must be transformed into action. We must build the platform from these stories so that others can feel safe to share their own.

“I was glad that I was able to share my story and how I persevered through the whole thing and I just want people to know that it’s OK for them to share their story. And even if you need to take a break and walk away you can always come back.”

As the student body president, Cordova elaborated on how she intends to take action and continue advocating for students who struggle with mental health issues.

“So, when I first got interviewed to be the President I had talked to my advisor about how (I) really want to change the campus into mental health advocacy and the public in general because I know that it kind of gets swept under the rug sometimes.

“And there’s a lot of people who deal with that, that I’ve talked to who won’t speak for themselves or come out about it and I think it’s really important for the community and for the college to know that people do struggle with mental health whether you’re an athlete or just a student.

“…I just think it needs to be spread throughout our community and it’s not talked about enough.”

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Throughout her journey playing softball and advocating for mental health, Cordova has had a strong support system in her family, friends, coaches, and teammates.

“My family, they’ve always supported me through anything. They definitely saw (that) when I decided not to play, that I was going through a lot.

“I was crying every day and really sad about it. But my mom was like, ‘If you need help, we’ll help you.’ …I constantly talked to them about how I was feeling and my little brother would always go in my room and give me hugs and (say) ‘You’re OK.’

“I just (would) always be around them because they’re uplifting and I’m always around my family.”

Cordova’s family expressed how much pride they take in seeing her being a voice for those who cannot speak up for themselves. Her father, Christopher Cordova, declared “As a parent, I think it’s important that we understand that kids of this generation go through a lot.

“It’s changed from my generation to the generation below that to now our daughter’s generation. With technology, with social media, they’re dealing with a lot. They dealt with (COVID-19 and) they were in isolation for quite a while. And I think that’s impacted this generation a lot and Albanie shared that with us.

“I think as adults, on our end, we need to do a better job. We need to do a better job at recognizing that and understanding that each person is dealing with what they’re dealing with and respect that.

“I’m a proud parent. I’m really proud of Albanie that she’s advocated. She advocated for herself, she spoke up. It was hard for her. For a kid to be able to speak up against things that weren’t right and advocate for herself.”

Cordova’s mother, Shawntelle Perez, added to Christopher’s statement, saying, “And even stick up to us as well because basically, we were trying to convince her just to play and just to deal with it, and she took a stand and basically said, ‘…It’s not worth it and at the end of the day, it’s my happiness that matters.’

“And so we had to support her… and she turned lemons into lemonade…

“I think the biggest thing for me is that she needed a platform to stand on and that’s why she ended up running for student body president of PCC…

“As Chris said she turned that fuel into fire and she was able to take full-time concurrent enrollment classes. So she’ll be pretty close to graduating with an Associate’s Degree by the time she finishes. So for that, I’m very proud of her…

“And she also volunteers at a nursing home… So her schedule is jam-packed, but she’s trying to make a difference. So, we’re very proud of her…

Her younger brother, Boston Cordova, also talked about what a good role model Albanie is for him saying, “She leads by example. She’s never really lost the love for the game like when she sat out that year she just wanted to play.

“So she never wanted to just stop and quit… She loves the game. She didn’t lose any interest at all, whatsoever. She’s just been supportive and she’s a good mentor.”

Cordova’s grandmother (Nana), Marilyn Perez, also commented on her character stating, “She has a very big heart.

“She thinks of everybody else and she doesn’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings… She thinks of her team… This is her first time with the whole team and they were willing to accept her and that’s what really helped her out a lot.”

Cordova’s teammates can attest to what her family claims as fellow Hornet softball player and senior, Valencia Garcia spoke about her teammate’s efforts.

“She wants to make sure that we’re all together as a team,” Garcia said.

“She really is (focused) on suicide prevention and I think she does a really good job getting (the word) out there and she’s a very supportive person.

“She’s impacted our lineup for sure. (Albanie) brings us together as a team, she definitely isn’t an outcast or anything. And she just has a good attitude, she’s always happy and never down and has a lot of grit.

“She’s definitely come a long way, she’s been through a lot of stuff and she’s definitely grown from it and it’s gotten her where she is today.”

Head coach of County’s softball team Danielle Villegas thinks highly of Cordova as well and is really encouraging about her mental health journey.

“I think this is huge and this has been needed in the game for a long time,” Villegas said.

“I think we put a lot of (pressure) on our student-athletes and so when you have someone in her position who can advocate and give resources and make us knowledgeable of the resources that are out there for them I think it’s huge.

“A lot of the girls have backed her up and supported her in these efforts so it’s been a really good thing for our team.

“We didn’t know what we were going to get when we got her when she came on board. She’s been a huge blessing. She’s been a great fit, the girls have really opened up to her and honestly, it’s like she’s been playing with us forever.

“So, just having her a part of the team she is a valuable tool on and off the field…”

Aspiring to be a dermatologist, Cordova is continuing her education and her softball career at Florida National University next year.

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The advice she would provide someone who is going through the same situation as she went through is, “Always speak up and don’t be afraid to speak up.

“It’s OK to take a break from the sport you love, you (can) always come back to it. And you (can) rely on other people, you don’t always have to rely on yourself.

“It’s OK to rely on your teammates or your family or your friends and make them aware of your situation and don’t just keep it in because that’s not good.”

Michelle Wells is a freelance reporter for the Chieftain. She can be reached at 1315mwells@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: County's Cordova is putting the Hornets and mental health on the map