Whenever Naperville Central guard Mia Lakstigala needs advice or criticism, she turns to her father, Keith.
She doesn’t have to look far.
Keith Lakstigala is Naperville Central’s assistant coach, and thus a constant presence. The 6-foot-8 Lakstigala, a former walk-on at Iowa, knows his daughter’s game better than anyone else because he helped shape it.
“It’s been great because I’ve been able to see her development from early on,” Keith said. “Obviously, as her dad and her coach, I can see things out there that she needs to work on and we try to work on those things every day.
“She’s doing a good job of working hard on those skill sets and attitude.”
Mia Lakstigala is a 5-11 junior who already has scholarship offers from Northern Illinois, Duquesne and Marist. She credits her success to her dad, who introduced her to basketball when she was in third grade.
“He is a good inspiration,” Mia said. “He knows a lot about basketball, which helps me. He is a good example to follow.”
“I’m never having off days. I’m always going hard because he’s there to push me.”
Indeed, Keith Lakstigala does not take it easy on his daughter.
“Especially in practice, he’s always really hard on me,” Mia said. “But it helps to have somebody to tell me what I need to work on, so it’s good.”
Mia has steadily improved since midway through her freshman year, when she hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to beat Wheaton North.
She moved into the starting lineup last season and averaged 14 points and 3.8 assists to help the Redhawks win the DuPage Valley Conference title. That earned her IBCA fourth team All-State honors.
“I think I do a good job, being a taller point guard, just going in transition and being able to make the pass or just take it myself,” she said. “I’m still working on that 3-point shot, knowing when to shoot it and knowing when to drive.”
Mia Lakstigala appears to be nowhere near her ceiling. She can play both guard positions but prefers the point, which will be her main focus this winter.
“I have a tendency to be a little bit hard on her, so I try not to be so difficult on her,” Keith said. “But I know where she wants to get and I know what she needs to do and I remind her of that every day.
“She wants to go Division I. That’s a big goal for her and I think she is getting there.”
Mia has visited colleges across the country and helps her dad scout Naperville Central opponents, gaining insight into the game. That trickles down to the rest of the team, according to sophomore forward Lucy Schmid.
“I think it helps a lot with them being dad-daughter because coach Lakstigala can really work on us a lot and tell her what to do because he’s a really good coach,” Schmid said. “He teaches us a lot of different moves. I’ve improved a lot because of the good things he’s taught us, especially with our shots.”
Mia Lakstigala enjoys her expanded role.
“I’m trying to be more of a leader this year, motivate my teammates as well as myself,” she said. “My teammates have helped me a lot so if I’m not having a good game they’ll pick it up and do their part.”
Schmid agreed Mia Lakstigala is doing her part.
“She’s a great team player,” Schmid said. “Without her I don’t think we’d have the connectivity we have as a team.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance writer for the Naperville Sun.
