Village stands with Winter Garden Little League coach after rare blood cancer diagnosis

For generations of families in Winter Garden, baseball and Little League always have been more than just a game. It’s been a gathering place to form lifelong friendships. 

Winter Garden Little League coach Ryan Ledford is one of those who understands that deeply.

Being born and raised in Winter Garden, Ledford played baseball for West Orange High and WGLL. That’s where he and his wife, Jessica Ledford, first met. They’ve been together since they were 15 years old — spending more of their lives together than apart. 

They know everything about each other.

And that’s why, when Ryan Ledford was experiencing nine days of severe headaches, Jessica Ledford knew something was off. They went to the emergency room but left still looking for answers. 

It wasn’t until 10 days later that Ryan Ledford developed abdominal pain. Jessica Ledford took him to her ultrasound studio, Sweet Peeks Imaging, and performed a scan. 

She found a blood clot in his liver. 

“As both a wife and a sonographer, it was one of the most overwhelming moments of my life,” Jessica Ledford said. “I instantly knew we had found something significant. Looking back, I truly believe God was guiding us every step of the way. The headaches led us to seek help. The abdominal pain pushed us to keep searching for answers. Those symptoms ultimately led us to the testing that uncovered the underlying disease.”

At 37 years old, Ryan Ledford was diagnosed with myeloproliferative neoplasms, a rare form of blood cancer that affects the body’s production of blood cells and requires lifelong treatment and monitoring. 

DIAGNOSIS

The diagnosis shocked his family — especially with how active Ryan Ledford has stayed his whole life. 

Heather Fraga, Jessica Ledford’s cousin and member of WGLL board of directors, said the cancer essentially is a “sleeper cell.” Anyone can be born with it and never know they have it.

Unless — or until — it awakens. 

Unlike some cancers that can be treated through surgery, MPNs must be managed over time. Ryan Ledford will have to have constant blood work, specialist appointments and medication designed to control the cancer and reduce the likelihood of complications. He has begun immunotherapy treatment, rather than traditional chemotherapy, to slow the progression of the disease and give him the best opportunity to live a near-normal lifespan.

Further testing showed he’s at elevated risk for blood clots. He has been placed on blood thinners, which has created risks for activities that were previously routine. 

“From the outside, Ryan may not appear sick,” Jessica Ledford said. “He is still coaching, still involved with his family and still showing up for the kids he loves to mentor. Maintaining that sense of normalcy is one of our greatest goals. Staying active, involved and engaged in the community has become an important part of this journey.”

Now, it’s about learning how to stay involved while making adjustments such as wearing protective screening when he was at batting practice for WGLL’s 12U All-Star team. 

Everything, the medications and adjustments, is preventive and will be ongoing. The blood cancer doesn’t come with a clear future or road map or expectations on a timeline that the disease will spread. 

And while the diagnosis requires many adjustments for the future, the response from the community has revealed just how many lives Ryan Ledford has impacted in his involvement with Winter Garden’s youth sports for nearly a decade. 

A COMMUNITY COACH

After Ryan Ledford finished his playing career at West Orange and entered his adult life, he has coached Winter Garden recreational soccer, Rise/Under Armour Flag Football League and a coach, manager and All-Star manager for WGLL.

Fraga said within the first two weeks of Ryan Ledford coaching a new team, he already knows each kid’s strengths and weaknesses, which is why he puts together a phenomenal team. When the board got together to decide who the All-Star Managers would be, they unanimously decided: Ryan Ledford. 

“He’s phenomenal,” Fraga said. “He has great rapport with the kids, and he knows everyone. And it’s not one of those, ‘I know you, because I want to exploit that relationship.’ It’s, ‘I know you, because I see you as a player, I see you as an individual, and I’m going to make you feel included and special and important.’ And he just gets the best out of every single player on his team. It’s phenomenal to watch.”

Before Ryan Ledford was a coach, Fraga knew him as an All-Star player. She has known him her whole life and before she became a boy mom she used to tease the Ledford family for always being at the ball field with their two boys. 

Now, Fraga understands. Watching Ryan Ledford from the front row find his calling as a coach and create an atmosphere that allows the kids to thrive together on the field has been “crazy to watch,” she said. 

Evan Glass said playing for Ryan Ledford in 2025 was his best season playing for WGLL. Glass remembered hitting the first home run for the team of the season and Ryan Ledford started screaming with joy, while Glass’ teammates ran out from the dugout in cheers. That season Ryan Ledford gave encouragement to everyone and it was a big part of why the 12U team went from strangers to close friends. 

“We’re all like a big family in the Little League,” Glass said. “If someone does another thing, you know, we all like to show support to everybody, even coaches and family and friends.”

The family extends past the players and even to the umpires. 

West Orange High Class of 2025 alumnus Wrigley Bates began umpiring for Ryan Ledford’s games three years ago. 

Bates realized how phenomenal of a coach Ryan Ledford was when he was umpiring one of his team’s playoff games. 

“He had every single one of the kids just engaged and wanting to play, and they ended up they ended up winning the whole thing,” Bates said. “You can just tell just by the smiles on their faces … that they’re out there having fun, and it all starts with coaching. And Ryan is at the top of the list of coaches that I’ve umpired before.” 

His phenomenal coaching ability starts at the fulfillment coaching brings him, Jessica Ledford said. Ryan Ledford feels these years are the best of his life. He knows they go by quickly, and being able to be on the field with their two sons and other children, watching their confidence grow and overcome challenges, has meant the world to him. 

That same community’s support has meant the world to them after they made the news of his diagnosis public to the community. 

“In difficult moments, people often say it takes a village,” Jessica Ledford said. “We can honestly say we’ve experienced that firsthand. The support we’ve received has lifted us on days when the weight felt impossible to carry. It has reminded us that we are not walking this road alone.”

The baseball community always has followed Ryan Ledford, and now, the Ledfords are asking for help from that same community as they take on the new life filled with treatments and medical bills, while focusing on what matters most — watching their young boys grow within the same area that shaped him. 

“This is what Winter Garden Little League is about,” Bates said. “This is what Winter Garden as a whole is about: Coming together for somebody that has put so much time and effort into making the community better, making the Little League better and putting so much time and effort into making sure these kids have fun. … We’re giving back to what he’s given Winter Garden.”