For Leonard Flores, being a softball coach is more than just building winning teams.

Flores is president of Queen Creek Heat Little League Softball and has been assisting with the league for almost 20 years. Queen Creek Heat is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization completely run by volunteers like Flores.

“He spends endless hours on and off the field coaching the players and running the league. Over the past 20 years he has changed the lives of hundreds to thousands of players by showing them true compassion and care,” wrote Kari Kaapana-Hansen, events and marketing specialist for the Queen Creek Chamber of Commerce in nominating Flores. “He may be tough on them, but he believes in every player and shows them how to grow to their full potential. Everything he does is completely volunteer and because he truly cares for these girls and wants them to have every opportunity.”

Along with being president of the league, every season Flores takes on coaching one or even sometimes up to three teams.

Name: Leonard Flores

Town/neighborhood: Queen Creek Crismon Heights

When and why I moved here: I moved from Los Angeles to Queen Creek in 1993 to escape city life and move into a small-town atmosphere.

What I like most about living here: Queen Creek is a quiet, peaceful, and friendly place to live. It doesn’t matter where you go in the community; residents usually say hi back when you say hi to someone. 

What I do: I am currently a coach and Queen Creek Heat Little League Softball league president. I have coached various youth sports in the community since 1998, starting with the town’s Parks and Rec flag football program in 1998, Little League softball since 2003, Queen Creek Middle School, and Queen Creek High School.

What I like most about what I do: Its gratifying to see youth athletes grow into adults and use the skills they learned playing softball to help them succeed in life.

What does being nominated for this category mean to you?  It’s an honor to be nominated. It’s a good feeling to know that all my hard work and time spent volunteering for our community youth athletes has been recognized by community members.

What does it mean to be a Queen Creek resident?  Back in 1993 when I moved to Queen Creek, only 1,500 of us residents were here. I have been through the growth of our community, and I have been here for 30 years. Queen Creek is home.

What would you tell people about why it's important to make a difference in Queen Creek? It takes a whole community of residents to make Queen Creek a great place to live. Everyone should do their part to keep it that way.

Favorite community cause & why: Queen Creek has a lot of town events that help bring the community together. Kudos to the Queen Creek event planners.

My family:  I have seven kids. One is in the Air Force, one is in the Navy, one is living on her own, two are in college living at home, and two are in grade school at home. Trying to get all of us in the same house at the same time for the holidays doesn’t usually work out, but we all stay connected through group messaging.

My interests and hobbies: I love traveling, going to the lake, or taking the razor out on a trail.

The trait(s) I admire in others: I respect honesty. It's nice to sit down and have an honest conversation with people.

People who inspired me (and how):  My community inspired me. Our community needs residents to step up and answer the call to volunteer in our youth programs. That’s what I did back in 1993.

My guiding philosophy: Anyone can be successful with practice, commitment and perseverance. When it becomes overwhelming, take a break, mentally regroup, then get back at it.

My advice to today’s youth: Choose which direction you are going to go in life. When challenges happen, figure out how to get through them, then keep going. Success in life comes with hard work. Never give up.

The Queen Creek Independent is pleased to announce Leonard Flores as the January 2024 Hometown Hero bestowed in the category of Coach/Mentor.  The Queen Creek Independent, along with East Valley Institute of Technology and Queen Creek Olive Mill salute Mr. Flores as this month's Queen Creek Hometown Heroes Awards recipient.

We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Janet Perez can be reached at jperez@iniusa.org.