Welcome home, Wolverines: Windermere football's on-campus stadium set to open this season

Editor's note: This story was written prior to the postponement of Windermere football's stadium-opening game, read more here on that story.

For Windermere High football coach Riki Smith, the words that fully describe the feeling simply don’t exist.

“To finally come home, to play our first-ever game on our new home field is indescribable for me,” he said.

It’s a reasonable assessment. After all, when the Wolverines christen their on-campus stadium, it marks a moment that has taken nearly eight years. And it isn’t hyperbole to say that the game is much more than four quarters of football and a notch on the season record.

“It feels like a whole new experience; it’s hard to explain the feeling,” Windermere senior football player Theo Fernandes said. “Just knowing that come Friday we don’t have to get on a bus to play in our own home game is something that I’m excited about. To be able to feel like we’re actually playing at home — to be able to just walk out of our locker room, feel the energy from the crowd and defend our home field for the first time — I just feel like it’s going to be a great experience.”

Regardless of whether the feelings of excitement can be properly conveyed, when the lights come on and the new on-campus stadium at Windermere High is officially open, it’ll be more than a had-to-be-there kind of experience. 

It’ll be bigger than a ribbon-cutting ceremony or the game on the field. It’ll be a moment that represents more than what the football program — and the athletics program as a whole — has built. 

When those lights flood down on the green grass gridiron that the boys of fall fight and claw on for victory, the moment will represent the entire Windermere High community and what it has become in its young existence.

“This moment means a lot to our program; it means a lot to our school,” Windermere senior football player Octavio Ulloa said. “Of course, (Deputy Scott Pine Community Park) will always have a special place in everybody’s heart, but we never felt full there. We never felt like that was really our home. So, for us to actually have a field we can call home, you can just feel how excited everybody is, not just the athletes but the school staff, the students, everybody is beyond hyped about this.”

FROM THE GROUND UP

As many Windermere High community members can tell you, this moment didn’t happen overnight. This stadium became a reality through the support of the community, the hard work of the coaches and players that have come before, and the standard-bearers that are in place today within the football program, school and community that make up Windermere High. 

“I can say that my team, school and community are excited,” Smith said. “Community engagement has played a significant role in my coaching philosophy, as I believe that fostering strong connections between the team and the community creates a supportive environment for players, families and fans. The ongoing support and engagement we’ve had with parents and the community has helped instill a sense of pride and responsibility in our players.”

That sense of pride wasn’t always the case for the Wolverines football team. João Araujo, now in his fourth season as part of the Windermere program, remembers what it was like before Smith took over in 2022. 

“When coach Smith came in, we were not an established program at all,” Araujo said. “We had different coaches every year, and that made it hard to build a relationship with them. But when coach Smith came in, he actually cared for everybody. He cared for the program as a whole and took us under his wing. That shift has been huge, and you can see the results with former players (such as) Noah Wright, Isaiah Nell, Lucas Glassburn who are now playing in college, and you see the results with the stadium and the excitement around the program. My hope is that we take what’s been built and bring it to the next level and leave our legacy behind for the kids coming up.”

Smith’s approach to building this program isn’t rocket science. It’s about culture and putting his players in the best position possible to succeed.

“It takes a few years to build a team,” Smith said. “We’ve focused mostly on fostering a positive team culture, first. And now we’re building on that culture and making sure we’re placing the players in the right position — based on talent, performance and attitude — to succeed.” 

Not only has the approach helped garner excitement for the football program, but also it has proven to be effective on the field. Smith is not only the longest-tenured coach in Wolverines history, he also is the winningest. 

“My coaching staff and I have set clear goals for improvement, and we’ve celebrated a couple of victories along the way,” he said. “As a result, not only have we seen a significant increase in the team’s performance on the field, but (also) the players’ confidence and camaraderie have grown stronger. Over the course of two seasons, we’ve come from being near the bottom of our league to moving in the right direction. Now, we’re aiming toward going higher.”

Keep the main thing, the main thing

To maintain that success on the field and achieve those goals, Smith mentions, a coach has to instill a focus in their ball club that pushes aside distractions — such as the praise that comes for starting the season undefeated or the buzz, excitement and attention from a stadium opening. Regardless of the circumstances, keeping players locked in on the main thing is key to building and maintaining a successful program.

For the Windermere players, though this week will be full of pomp and circumstance, the message from their coach is crystal clear. 

“Coach Smith always says, ‘Keep the main thing, the main thing,’” Ulloa said. “No matter what is going on around you — whether it be pep rallies or different types of celebrations — since the summer, coach has steadily been saying to keep the main thing the main thing. Don’t get caught up in other stuff, focus on your job and what you need to do, and we’ll be set at the end of the day.”

“There’s definitely been an added pressure to this week with all the excitement around campus, but coach is always telling us to stay focused,” Araujo said. “What he always tells us is to keep the main thing, the main thing. And for us that means to focus on our preparation for the game and not getting distracted with outside stuff.”

“We’re just coming into this week with a humble attitude and not underestimating our opponents,” senior lineman Enzo Fernandes said. “Coach is always preaching to us to stay locked in on doing our jobs and not focusing on the stuff that’s being said outside of our locker room. This week is no different.”

Despite the laser focus from his players, Smith knows this week will be difficult, given this is a completely new experience.

“I anticipate doing both — keeping a balance between enjoying the moment and remaining focused on the game — will be a challenge,” Smith said. “Especially because a lot of our boys have never experienced this situation before. For most, this is their first-ever true home-game experience, so it can be difficult to prepare a team for high-pressure situations that involve both mental and physical aspects. On the mental side, we will emphasize maintaining focus on the game plan we’ve practiced, executing to the best of our ability, and hoping that our previous wins have grown their confidence and composure enough that they will be ready to cope and perform at a high level. The hope is we can use that excitement and support from our fans as energy on the field.”