Carmel senior Maia Cordova is a throwback.
She has become a standout player in three sports: flag football, basketball and lacrosse.
“It’s definitely not easy doing three sports,” Cordova said. “Many days, I have lacrosse practices in the morning and then flag football or basketball practice later. It’s a lot.
“I usually always have something going on.”
But something new is underway on the basketball court for Cordova, a 5-foot-5 senior guard who has become a go-to scorer for the Corsairs (3-0) this season. She averaged 12 points, 3.0 rebounds 2.0 assists and 4.5 steals in the first two games.
A fourth-year varsity player, Cordova had a reserve role in her first two seasons, including on the 2022 Class 3A state championship team, and was more of a distributor as a junior.
“She’s a tough kid and is taking on more of a leadership role,” Carmel coach Ben Berg said. “She’s improved offensively and is scoring more this year. We encourage her to shoot more and score.”
Defense continues to be a strength for Cordova, however.
“I’m definitely getting more opportunities with scoring, but the prime thing for me is still defense,” she said.
Cordova had six steals during the Corsairs’ win against Round Lake last week.
“Maia is one of the best on-ball defenders I’ve ever coached,” Berg said. “I’ve coached a lot of good ones.”
Berg learned that Cordova is a good one in flag football too — as an offensive-minded player. Berg is an assistant for Carmel’s flag football team and watched Cordova make 95 catches for 1,100 yards and score 15 touchdowns in 12 games in the sport’s first official season in the Illinois High School Association. She also has 107 goals and 55 assists in 57 career lacrosse games at Carmel.
So scoring is nothing new for Cordova.
“She’s tough, has got great hands and catches anything within her catch radius,” Berg said. “She’s not afraid to go after it in traffic, like in basketball and lacrosse.”
Cordova’s father, Rich, who played on Fremd’s 1992 football team that went undefeated in the regular season, is the defensive coordinator at Grayslake Central. Rich Cordova said it has been eye-opening to see Maia play football.
“I have three daughters, and never in my wildest dreams would I think I would be watching one of my children play football,” Rich Cordova said. “I’m proud of her leadership. She empowers people around her. They seem to do more.
“Coming from a football aspect, I look at her as one of those players you are not going to stop. You do your best to contain them.”
Rich Cordova also noted Maia’s height.
“For how small she is, I didn’t know she had such a great catch radius,” he said. “That part got me. She has great field vision and knows how to pick it. She’s also very elusive in the open field, just like her at point guard or as a midfielder in lacrosse.”
Carmel junior guard Josie Hartman, who was named to the all-state team as a quarterback in flag football, said Maia Cordova combines talent and determination.
“She was my most trustful receiver because I know how dedicated she is to every team she’s on, and she also has a lot of natural talent, so she could catch passes that most girls would struggle with,” Hartman said.
“She always brings an upbeat mood to any team she’s on because even though winning is important to her, she wants the team to have fun playing, and it shows in the way she interacts with us.”
That’s among the qualities that make Cordova a good teammate.
“I think Maia’s experience from being on varsity for multiple sports since freshman year makes her such a smart and strong player no matter what sport,” Hartman said. “She always makes the right play, and she’s not only a skilled player, but she’s great at communicating and supporting the rest of the team.
“She’s the exact teammate you want when you are struggling and need that leadership and calmness that she brings.”
A captain in basketball, Cordova is leading on and off the court.
“My role is so different now because so many younger girls look up to me because of what I’ve done in the program,” she said. “I want people to have a fun senior year and be competitive.”
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.
