Local youth softball team is on fire

The future of softball in the Windermere area remains bright as yet another team from the powerhouse Windermere Wildfire travel program is experiencing its success on the travel circuit.

The Windermere Wildfire 10U team, coached by John Van Arsdol and Ruben Maldonado, is 24-6 this spring and already has a spring league championship. The Wildfire completed the 10-week NSA Spring Softball season April 23 with a 10-1 victory in the championship game against the Venom.

It is the second league championship in less than a year for this Wildfire team; it also won the NSA Florida State Championship last fall. 

According to Van Arsdol, the secret for this group of youngsters’ success is honing the basics.

“We play simple, fundamental ball,” Van Arsdol said. “This team beats a lot of people at the bottom of the lineup. … We have dominating pitching.”

The victory in the spring league was important for more than just the trophy the girls brought home, too. When a couple of the girls from the fall team that won the state championship aged out of this team and onto another, the spring league became important insofar as getting the new-look Wildfire to gel.

Now, the team has that momentum as it heads into the thick of the travel ball and Little League All-Stars calendar in the summer.

Along the way, Van Arsdol is hopeful to teach the girls a thing or two about life as well as getting them ready to hopefully play high-school softball one day.

“They’re learning life skills and God skills right here on the field,” Van Arsdol said. “These girls are learning valuable lessons here.”

Contact Steven Ryzewski at [email protected].