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Club Spotlight: Firecrackers Head Tony Rico Looks Back on the Program’s Amazing Players

Lauren Chamberlain poses with players from the Oklahoma Firecrackers.

With the recent retirement from softball of all-time NCAA home run leader Lauren Chamberlain, it had us thinking back to before her All-American college career at Oklahoma when she was starring with Tony Rico’s Firecrackers organization.

Lauren was one of 20 Firecracker players who would go on to earn NCAA Div. I All-American honors after playing with the club team that has now expanded into 20 states.

The legendary program goes back almost three decades to when Gary Wardein started the Firecrackers in 1990 and ran it through 2002. In that time, the organization won its first national championship in 1994; by 1996, Rico was coaching the 18U team and in 2003 the Southern California native took over the reins of the prestigious program.

Sis Bates helped the 2016 team win the PGF 18U National Championship.

The 2006 team would make it to the ASA National Championship game in Oklahoma City but would lose to the powerhouse OC Batbusters, but the next year—behind the pitching of Megan Langenfeld and the slapping prowess of K’Lee Arrendondo—the 18U Firecrackers would bring home the trophy.

That started an amazing run that would see the Firecrackers play in five national championships over the next decade including winning the 2016 PGF National 18U Premier title behind pitcher Brooke Vestal and infielder Sis Bates.

Since the start of the Firecrackers organization, which is now in states as wide-ranging as Arizona, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Utah, 65 alums have gone on to compete in the Women’s College World Series with 15 winning the World Series on 10 different teams.

Tony Rico had a stretch of 10 years where his 18U team played in five National Championships.

We caught up with Rico recently to ask him about great stable of talented players and who among the many he’s coached stands out over the last several decades.

The long-time coach and administrator impressively gave dates, accomplishments and facts about every one of his former players we brought up; we then put him on the spot by asking which players impressed him on topics ranging from speed to intensity to softball IQ to leadership.

Here’s what he answered for each question (we added the high school grad date and the university the players attended)… and if you want to see an impressively extensive list of Firecracker alums from his 18U teams, click HERE…

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Sis Bates (right) with teammate Alyssa Pinto after winning PGF 18U Premier Nationals in 2016.

The player who’d be the “face” of the Firecrackers…
Sis Bates (2016, Washington). She has physical beauty plus humility plus grace plus empathy.

Fastest player in Firecrackers history…
Jamia Reid (2008, Cal). She was legitimately a 2.6 lefty which is in the one-to-two percentile. Remember: 90 percent say they’re 2.6 in their profiles but on a stopwatch it’s less than two percent. Two out of 100.

Most intense…
K’Lee Arredondo (2016, Arizona). She wanted to win and perform so bad that it hurt.

Best softball IQ…
Melissa Roth (2006, Louisville) and Hallie Wilson (2011, Arizona). They grew up around the game and it was obvious to me that when they were 13 that they understood the game at a level higher than most. They had increased insight few have about the sport.

One who overcame the most…
Bella Secaira (2013, Utah). On June 3, 2011, she fell four stories off a roof and broke her neck and was not supposed to live, certainly not to walk agin, and she was playing softball in six months. She played at Utah as a catcher and definitely beat the odds. Today she works with special needs kids in Utah. I don’t think anyone will ever beat her odds! I remember we had just lost a player two months before that and I thought we were going to lose another one when we got that call (about Bella).

Ashley Hansen went on to be named the 2011 NCAA National Player of the Year. Photo by Stanford Athletics.

Most likely to be a CEO…
Ashley Hansen (2008, Stanford). She’ll be the CEO of Google or YouTube, probably–that’s who she’s working for now (Google). Ashley came in as one of three great catchers, I think in 2006, but we were overstaffed with catchers and it was obvious she was a great infielder so we converted her. She played middle infielder for Stanford and in 2011 was the NCAA Player of the Year. She’s clear-minded, self-assured and a visionary who’s pragmatic.

Player you wanted up most with the game on the line…
Lauren Chamberlain (2011, Oklahoma). She could get it done anytime, anywhere against anyone.

Player who has the biggest #1 fan parent….
Melissa Roth (2006, Louisville). Her mom Chris has really has been the ultimate fan and it’s shown in Melissa’s success.

Play you wouldn’t want to face in a dark alley…
K’Lee Arredondo (2016, Arizona).  It’s not that she’s physically imposing, it’s just that she’s well-equipped and one you’d expect would be able to take care of herself in an alley… whatever that means: gun, lead pipe… (laughs).

Megan Langenfield won a National Championship with the Firecrackers and later at UCLA. Photo by UCLA Softball.

Pitcher who you’d want in the circle to win one game?
Megan Leganfield (2006, UCLA). She had reliability and accuracy, reliability being in her mental and thinking processes and how she handled pressure. Megan was very capable of thinking clearly under stress.

Player with the greatest “it” factor…
Taylor Van Zee (2014, Washington). She definitely has “it!” The first time I saw her on the field she caught my eye and she was only eleven-years-old at the time. Taylor is tenacious and hard-working.

Most charismatic…
Stephanie Brown (2003, Notre Dame). She has presence and is stunning, I don’t know what it is, but when she walks in the room she has a certain presence and owns the room. Stephanie’s now with a group in San Diego that’s politically tied in and there are pictures of her with dignitaries. She fits into that world.

Player You’d Want to Lead You in Battle?
Janelle Lindvall (2012, Oregon). She embraces the stress (of a situation) and plays with full intent.

Player you see that could step in and take over your position someday…
Taylor Van Zee (2014, Washington).

Player you’d be proud to call your daughter…
Melissa Roth (2006, Louisville). I feel like she IS my softball daughter!

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