Words by Jenny Lynn Davis | Images by Al Blanton

For Cordova High School senior Mia Vance, there is rarely an offseason.

Between volleyball, basketball, softball, and the occasional track season, much of Mia’s life revolves around competition. She loves the challenge, but just as importantly, she loves the people beside her.

“I think it’s just the feeling of competing and enjoying it, being with friends and everything,” she says.

Of all the sports she plays, though, one has always meant a little more.

“I think softball has more of my heart,” Mia says. “There’s just something about it. I don’t really know. It’s just a better feeling whenever I’m out on the field.”

Mia has been on a softball field since she was three years old, beginning with T-ball and continuing through a high school career that has brought significant recognition. Most recently, she was named a second-team All-American.

“It was crazy,” she says. “I feel like all the hard work has finally paid off. It’s just a really big accomplishment for me, and I’ve just got to keep growing from there.”

That accomplishment was built during games and practices, as well as in the hours few people see.

“I think all the late-night training, the work after practice, and the speed work,” Mia says. “All of that is just as important.”

Her speed has become one of the defining features of her game, enough so that Mia has already rewritten the Cordova record book. She holds the school record for stolen bases with 84, surpassing the previous record of 69 held by her own coach, Mary Kilpatrick.

For Mia, however, competing in multiple sports has taught her something larger than how to win.

“I feel like if you fail, you’ve just got to keep going,” she says. “You can’t focus on that one mistake you made. You have to know there’s a next play where you can make up for it. Don’t keep thinking about the old play. Just focus on the new one.”

It is a mindset she carries through long days that can include school, practice, training, and homework.

Mia credits Coach Kilpatrick as the person who has had the greatest influence on her athletic career, pointing to the coach’s encouragement and guidance through the years.

That encouragement is something Vance hopes she passes along to her own teammates.

“I hope my teammates in every sport would say I’m really encouraging,” she says. “I just wish the best for them, and I want to see them succeed in what they want to do.”

Now beginning her senior year, Mia is trying not to rush toward whatever comes next.

“I just want to enjoy this last year while I can because it’s not going to last forever,” she says. “I want to enjoy every moment.”

There will be decisions ahead. Mia currently has an offer from Bevill State Community College and is considering studying nursing or psychology while continuing to play softball, with the possibility of eventually transferring to a four-year school.

For now, though, she still has another year representing the community she grew up in -something she is reminded of whenever Cordova’s youngest fans spot her.

“All these little kids come up to me and they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, Mia! Mia!’” she says. “It’s kind of cool knowing I’m impacting the whole community.”

And when her final high school game has been played and people look back on Mia Vance’s years in Cordova athletics, she hopes the records and accolades will only be part of what they remember.

“Just being a good person, hyping everybody up, and being really fast,” she says. 78