When George Maya took over the Mayfield girls’ basketball team, he did not just aim for historic win records and state championships.
He wanted to prove he could lead a successful program regardless of gender. Maya remains steadfast in his philosophy – that building a a successful program is more than winning championships – after 600 wins, three state championships and over 40 years of coaching experience.
Maya made history on “Pink Night,” Feb. 7, securing his 600th win, a Trojan victory against long-time rivals, the Las Cruces High School BullDawgs.
The game was a nail-biter. The Mayfield fans were on the edge of their seats when the Trojans clinched a two-point victory. The gym erupted in cheer for the Hall of Fame coach as the final buzzer sounded. The girls’ team jumped on their coach, presenting him with shirts congratulating Maya and a large gold chain with the number 600 on the front. Mayfield High graduate and Las Cruces Mayor Eric Enriquez also honored Maya with a trophy presentation to celebrate his milestone win.
Maya and the rise of girls' basketball
When the now 12-time winner of the 3-A Coach of the Year award first started in 1994, the NCAA Women’s Basketball Final Four was far from generating 14.2 million views, as it did in 2024, according to ESPN.
Girl’s basketball lacked the influence it has now with young girls. According to the Women’s Sports Foundation, girls are not only less likely to join sports teams but drop out of their sport by high school due to a lack of opportunities, social stigma and inaccessibility.
Maya says the girls' lack of experience was the biggest challenge initially. His teams would vary between girls who had played before and others who hadn’t. His coaching would have to evolve from telling the boys what plays to run and critiquing their form to teaching some girls the sport while the few experienced players helped on the court.
But Maya says coaching girls has made him a better coach. Before he could worry about winning games, Maya prioritized ensuring his players learned and improved each season. This is when he says he realized what it takes to build a program.
“You can’t judge how good your season was based solely on whether you win district and State. That’s not how you build a program. If you are always waiting for talented players, you will go to State every ten years. I learned to develop players, so a good season for me is when everyone shows up and works hard. Or a player got better. That’s a good season to me.”
Maya doesn’t see himself as a girl's head coach. He thinks of himself as just a coach, just like he doesn't see his players as female athletes, just athletes. Arguing about putting labels on the players does little actually to help them, he said.
When asked what he wants to see out of his players during a game, he said, “Hard work. Winning is always the goal, but I expect hard work.”
A lifetime of success, reflection
Maya led Mayfield to their very first state championship in 2004.
Then Maya’s self-doubts about whether he was cut out for the job were silenced. The girls' team became a powerhouse, and when Maya’s daughter Jeneca Maya Montoya joined the coaching staff five years ago as the freshman coach, Montoya had to cut 15 girls at the time.
Now, a new challenge surfaces as Maya has no retirement date set.
The Trojans are almost back to square one. There are only 17 players on the 2024-2025 team, and seven seniors will leave next season. The team will lose nearly half its members, with only three junior varsity players and three first-year students waiting in the wings.
Maya Montoya, who played for her father when she was at Mayfield and won a state title with her dad in 2007, says the eagerness to join the team isn’t the same.
“Now we’re in the hallway asking girls to try out for the team,” Maya Montoya says.
Although Maya is happy with his program and has built relationships with past players that will last a lifetime, the coach thinks it is only a matter of time before school sports programs become obsolete.
He recounts the past years of low fan turnout for the team, but the lack of commitment has never been this severe. Maya blames multiple factors for their struggling attendance numbers, saying kids today have better things to do than join a team, and the commitment to the team is seen as a waste of time.
Maya also says the lack of community, which used to be the backbone of any good sport, makes it hard to keep players committed. Maya used to take in kids struggling with school or family life, giving them a stable and supportive environment to thrive.
This change comes at a significant moment for girls' sports, especially basketball, where the popularity of pro and college teams continues to grow.
Maya said he could be as demanding on his team as he wanted at some point because he had girls waiting to take someone's spot. Now, the coach who has never talked about retiring says he’s glad about the end of his career being on the horizon.
“These kids want to get paid before doing work,” Maya said.
Maya says he still loves coaching and has no plans to quit soon unless “the good Lord has a different plan for him.”
His granddaughter plays on the varsity team, and the dwindling numbers haven’t affected another successful season for Maya and his team, which is ranked first in the district and third in the State.
