Coach Rick Meza grew up in Sugar Land, Texas where he grew up playing baseball and being taught by members of the Houston Astros. When he graduated high school, he joined the U.S. Army and played for the U.S. Army baseball team. He was also a member of the U.S. Army baseball team while he was stationed in Germany. He also played AAA baseball for the California White Sox program. Coach Rick Meza is a U.S. Army veteran who served his country for 25 years Active Duty. Meza was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq from 2004-2005. Meza has over 35 years of coaching experience with over 15 years of experience coaching softball and baseball at the middle and high school level. He coached softball at Norman High School from 2002-2004 prior to being deployed. He also coached high school baseball at NW Classen High School from 2005-2018 for 10 years where he was also the JROTC Instructor. He coached the middle school softball and baseball teams at Taft Middle School from 2011-2014. 

Coach Meza started the Blaze (Building Lady Athletes with a Zeal for Excellence) in 2002 when it started as the Norman Blaze. In 2004, the team transitioned into more than kids from Norman and became the Oklahoma Blaze. The team remained until 2007 when the doors were closed and Coach Meza went on to coach for the Oklahoma Angels Baseball program. After his daughter graduated college in 2010, she kept bugging him to start the Blaze back up and become a father/daughter coaching duo. In the fall of 2013, he gave in and the Oklahoma Blaze 18U was re-formed. In 2014, the program grew to two teams and expanded over time.

Candice "Meza" Eades is the daughter of Rick Meza. Candice has lived in Jacksonville, Arkansas; San Antonio, Texas; Northridge, California; and Anaheim, California before moving to Norman, Oklahoma around the age of 10 years old due to military moves as a family. She played softball on varsity for three years at Norman High School and played for the Norman Blaze from 2002-2004 before becoming the Oklahoma Blaze in 2005. She finished out her Blaze career through 2007. Candice went on to play college softball at NAIA Mid-America Christian University from 2006-2010. She was awarded the first player in school history at MACU to play all 4 years of eligibility at the school. Candice played 1st Base and Outfield for Mid-America and was named captain by her teammates as a freshman in college. Candice started out as a volunteer coach for NW Classen High School and then was named Head Coach of the Taft Middle School team for two years from 2012-2014. She has been coaching for the Oklahoma Blaze program since the fall of 2013.

Candice graduated from MACU in December 2010 with a Bachelors of Science in Behavioral Science and went on to graduate school at MACU towards her Masters in Counseling for Marriage and Family Therapy. She has also earned certifications and taken courses at Francis Tuttle for Accounting - Bookkeeping. Following college, Eades worked in inpatient mental health with adolescents age 12-17 who were experiencing emotional/behavioral difficulties as Direct Care Staff II leading individual and group therapy sessions. She also worked for two years in outpatient mental health working with the severely mentally-ill homeless population and homeless families in need as a Supported Housing Specialist/Case Manager II. Candice currently works at the USA Softball National Office as Registration Systems Specialist and Information Technology.