Sam’s 2025 spring football stops: Windermere Prep Lakers

It’s the third week of the 2025 spring high school football session, and although the end of spring ball is just beyond the horizon, this is the week when questions begin to get answered and those speculating on what their teams will be putting on display under those Friday floodlights come the fall can start making more educated conclusions.

In the third edition of Sam’s 2025 spring football stops, we continue our 12-stop journey to take fans of West Orange and Southwest Orange high school football behind the scenes of the spring high school football. 

This week, we’re taking a deep dive into the Foundation Academy Lions, as they prepare for life under new coach Daniel White, the Horizon Hawks, as they look to bounce back from an injury-riddled 2024 season, and what second-year Windermere Prep coach James Hamilton expects to see from his Lakers in 2025.

More from Sam's spring football stops: The First Academy | Foundation Academy | Horizon High | Ocoee High | Olympia High | West Orange High | Windermere High | Windermere Prep

Windermere Prep Lakers

2024 record: 2-7

Spring game: 6 p.m. Thursday, May 15, at Trinity Prep, vs. Orangewood Christian and Bronson High

Coach: James Hamilton, second season

Key returners, additions: ATH Peyton Hollern, ATH Adrian Delgado, OL/DL Aaron Zhang and DL Eduardo Arcila

With a young roster and first-time head coach in James Hamilton last season, Windermere Prep football struggled to rack up wins on game days, focusing rather on developing a solid culture for the team.

In year two for Hamilton, that foundation is becoming more solid as his players develop physically in the weight room and in the fundamentals on the field. Although the Lakers should show signs of growth in 2025, they still are a young bunch that have room to improve. But under Hamilton, it’s only a matter of time before the wins start piling up. 

No. 1: Adding to the coaching ranks

One of the most important additions to this Lakers team in 2025 isn’t going to be wearing a helmet and pads. He’ll be standing on the sidelines calling out plays and coaching up the defense. Former West Orange High and Olympia High head coach — Hamilton’s high school coach at Olympia — Bob Head has joined the Windermere Prep staff as the Lakers new defensive coordinator. 

With 14 seasons as a head coach, Head not only brings the experience needed to help his former player and first-time head coach grow, but also he will be key in helping this young group of players develop.

No. 2: Building the culture

“Last season was all about us as a group developing a mindset of keep fighting, keep pushing, especially toward the end of the season,” Hamilton said. “We knew that we were a young team last year and that a lot of our kids didn’t have much experience. So we knew the outcome of games probably wouldn’t be what we wanted. Our focus was on setting a foundation for the culture of this program. We wanted our guys to continue the fight, continue to hold (one another) accountable and continue to build for the future — even when it was difficult. I think they did a good job of that and as we continue to build the program, we’ll keep that same approach this spring and in the offseason, in the weight room, and obviously, when we get out here on the field in the fall.”

No. 3: Youth taking a step forward

“We have a lot of ninth-graders, eighth-graders out here, so being able to see some of these guys get out here and compete and see what they took from last season and grow from it, has been positive,” Hamilton said. “Last year was a lot of their first-time-ever playing the game, so now that they have a little bit more experience under their belts, they are starting to play with more maturity and aggression. At first, they were a little timid last year; now they’re flying around a little bit more. I think that comes from being more confident in themselves from being in the weight room, getting a little bit bigger. That’ll only continue to grow as we continue our summer program to get stronger. Overall, this spring has really been about keeping it simple and continue to teach them more about the game. A ton of these kids are not just new to playing football, they’re new to football completely, so it’s literally about all about teaching the game and keeping it simple, and just seeing what each kid can bring to the table.”