Myers Park High School Softball
“I was brought in to create a winning culture.”
First season coaching school softball · March 13 meeting
We are Anna’s parents, Morgan and Erin.
Everything you are about to see comes directly from our family’s experience during the 2026 Myers Park High School softball season.
Emails. Text messages. Audio recordings. Photographs. School correspondence. Game records.
We have tried to present events as accurately and honestly as we can.
Not long after, she started learning to pitch. By high school, she had spent years competing year-round, playing travel softball, and developing as a pitcher.
That work eventually led to her accepting an offer to continue playing softball in college.
Softball wasn’t just something Anna did. It had become part of who she was.
By the end of sophomore year, Anna had thrown 152 innings for Myers Park. She was team MVP, All-Conference, and All-Observer Second Team.
“We know she’s the best pitcher on the roster. All day every day.”
That summer, as Myers Park awaited a new coach, she helped keep workouts going by coordinating times and bringing equipment.
By the start of her junior year, she couldn’t wait to get started.
“Every afternoon, I would sit in my car outside the softball field, trying to convince myself to get out.”
Just months earlier, Anna had been counting down the days to the start of the season.
Vincent "Vinny" Ferreri took over the Myers Park softball program for Anna’s junior season. As practices began, the relationship between Anna and Ferreri became increasingly difficult. Feedback that Anna expected to be about pitching and performance began to feel personal.
“Your 12 - 11 Sophomore season record isn't very good.”
“Committing to a D3 program isn’t an accomplishment.”
“These girls don’t know you and you haven’t done anything for them to respect you.”
When Anna said something we had never heard from her before, we knew we had to step in:
“I don’t want to play softball anymore.”
We asked to meet with Ferreri. That meeting became the first attempt to help Anna.
February 17
We wanted to understand what was happening and find a way to help her stay and finish the season.
Morgan met with Ferreri and Assistant Coach Glenn Thompson after practice. Morgan recalls Ferreri saying he had a list in his pocket of things Anna had done.
Morgan told him he didn’t want to go through a list. He wanted to focus on what was happening to Anna’s love of the game and how to help her regain it. Ferreri continued pressing to share the list. Eventually, Morgan asked him to give one example.
Ferreri chose this:
Anna had walked past Ferreri before practice without giving him a high five.
Ferreri agreed to let Anna call her own pitches for a few games. By the second game, he had taken the calls back.
Then, on March 2 against Butler, he came to the circle and told Anna:
Ferreri
“The next hit you give up I’m pulling you.”
Anna
“Ok coach.”
Ferreri pulled her immediately.
He later described Anna’s “Ok coach” as “extremely disrespectful.”
March 4, 2026
Ferreri had begun several in-game at-bats by calling pitches well outside the strike zone, pitches normally used when already ahead in the count.
When Ferreri and Anna spoke about the calls, Anna recalled he said he didn’t know what the pitch-calling card meant by “2 balls off” or “way up.”
Anna was beginning to lose trust in him as a pitch caller.
March 11, 2026
Morgan’s confidence in Ferreri was beginning to erode as well.
The comments, the treatment of players, and girls leaving practices in tears had raised serious questions about the culture Ferreri was creating.
We had started talking about the need to document what was happening.
“Whatever else is happening, he hasn’t crossed a line like going into the girls’ locker room,” Morgan said.
“He’s been in the locker room with the girls.”
Erin, recounting what Anna had told her
It was the first Morgan had heard of it. To him, a different line had been crossed.
He emailed Myers Park Principal Robert Folk and Athletic Director Brian Poore that afternoon.
Anna’s Account
Anna said the juniors and seniors were already inside choosing lockers, something that had traditionally been done by seniority.
According to Anna, Ferreri knocked and asked to come in.
One of the juniors jokingly called out, “Don’t come in, I have my shirt off.”
Ferreri entered and responded, “Don’t joke about that. I could lose my job.”
School’s Account
When Erin asked AD Poore about the incident, the explanation relayed to her was that Ferreri had led the girls into the locker room.
After Morgan raised the concern with Principal Folk, Principal Folk said the school had spoken with Ferreri and reviewed school video from outside the locker room.
He wrote that there was “no evidence of indiscretion,” that the players were not changing, and that Ferreri had been there so the girls could choose lockers.
“My concern is that having an adult male coach enter a locker room with underage girls present can easily create a situation that could be perceived as inappropriate.”
Later that afternoon
Separately, Anna met with Ferreri, AD Poore, and another player.
The players had asked for the meeting to address concerns around the softball program.
Instead, Ferreri turned the meeting toward Anna.
“I let you call your own pitches. How did that work out for you?”
“This is my field.”
“If you want to just say you’re quitting now, AD Poore is right here. Go ahead and tell him.”
Anna left the meeting crying. Before she did, the group had reached a deal for the next time she returned to the circle:
The Deal About the Calls
Anna’s part
Anna would throw the pitches Ferreri called.
Ferreri’s part
Ferreri would be responsible for the outcome of those calls.
After the player meeting
Erin called Poore and told him how upset Anna was. He suggested that Anna come home and not play that day given her emotional state.
Morgan drove to Marvin Ridge to get her. When he arrived, Anna was in the outfield preparing for the game.
“I don’t know what to do. I love softball and I want to keep playing, but I don’t know what to do.”
After seeing the emotional state Anna was in after her conversations with Ferreri, Morgan agreed with AD Poore that going home was the best thing for her. At Poore’s suggestion, Anna left with Morgan before the game began.
After Marvin Ridge
The next day, we were told Ferreri expected her to apologize to the team for leaving. Until she did, she could not return to the team.
Erin went to practice because we believed the apology would happen there. She did not want Anna to face it alone.
Shortly before practice ended, AD Poore called Erin to say Ferreri had asked that the practice be closed to outside observers.
Erin was the only parent there.
Later that day
That evening, Morgan put the events in writing and asked Principal Folk and AD Poore for help moving forward.
Seeing her in that state was difficult. Softball has always been something she loves and looks forward to, and recently it has clearly become a source of significant stress for her.
Our goal is simply to support our daughter so she can continue participating in the sport she loves in a healthy environment.
The Principal’s Office
The next day, a meeting with Principal Folk came together on short notice. Erin texted Morgan, who left work and headed directly to the school, arriving a few minutes late.
Morgan and Erin attended a formal meeting with Principal Folk, AD Poore, Ferreri, and Thompson.
We came prepared to discuss concerns about the broader team environment, not only Anna’s relationship with Ferreri.
When incidents are described very differently by leadership and by the players who experienced them, trust erodes.
We were concerned about an environment in which teenage athletes did not feel able to question or speak up.
The concern was not limited to Anna. We had observed multiple players leaving interactions or practices visibly upset.
Ferreri brought something different to the meeting. Anna had still not apologized, and he wanted her to apologize to the team for leaving Marvin Ridge.
Principal Folk put an end to it. Anna would not have to apologize.
Then he brought the room back to the reason we were there:
“How do we help Anna?”
We had come prepared with Anna’s answer.
Morgan read these four points aloud to everyone in the room. When AD Poore asked to keep them, Morgan tore that portion from his notes and handed it to him before they left.
Anna wanted to stay.
We wanted this to work.
And for the first time, everyone responsible for helping make that possible was sitting at the same table.
Later that day
Hours after the meeting, Myers Park played Hopewell.
When Anna entered the circle, she and Ferreri had already agreed on what each would do.
TWO DAYS EARLIER
Anna’s part
Anna would throw the pitches Ferreri called.
Ferreri’s part
Ferreri would be responsible for the outcome of those calls.
A rematch
Two years earlier, Anna had faced Hopewell and helped Myers Park get its first win in the state tournament in a decade.
Anna · 5.0 Innings · 1 Hit · 8 Strikeouts
This time, one important thing was different.
Anna had agreed to throw the pitches Ferreri called.
GameChanger play-by-play
Top of the 4th Inning
Anna in at pitcher.
Myers Park leads Hopewell 6 to 4
First batter
#1 singles on a fly ball to left fielder.
Second batter
#13 singles on a ground ball to third baseman.
Third batter · 1 out
Fly out.
Fourth batter · Bases loaded
#17 walks.
Fifth batter · Game tied
#1 scores on a wild pitch.
#11 singles on a fly ball to center field.
#13 scores.
Myers Park 6 · Hopewell 6
Sixth batter · 2 outs
Sacrifice bunt.
Myers Park 6 · Hopewell 7
Pitching change
Anna removed with two outs.
Anna was removed with two outs.
She had thrown every pitch Ferreri had called.
After the Hopewell game, Anna and Ferreri each wrote an account of the same mound conversation.
Anna’s Account
Coach comes out to the mound and asks, “What happened?”
I said, “Nothing, I’m throwing the pitches you called.”
He replied, “Are we really doing this?”
I asked, “Doing what? You’re calling in the pitches. I’ve thrown literally everything you’ve called.”
Then he said, “Well, I didn’t mean for you to just throw all past balls.” (I don’t remember the exact phrasing of that quote, but it was something like that.)
Coach then asked me if [the catcher] was setting up where the pitches were being called. I told him I didn’t know because I don’t watch the catcher.
I said, “I am doing my job which you asked was to throw the pitches you called I have thrown every single pitches you’ve called. I am not watching the catcher that’s not my job. My job is to throw the pitches you called.”
Then there was some more discussion about how the runs were scoring. At the end of the conversation, he put his hand out and said, “I’m making a change.”
Ferreri’s Account
Her demeanor in the circle is not something that we as a coaching staff, or a group of players want representing our team during a game. Angry. Shaking her head after every pitch call. Very visual disgust.
I tried to let her push through, went to the circle alone as discussed.
I asked one simple question, "what’s up"?
I was met with blame. She blamed me for calling all her pitches. Pitches that were in the dirt or above the glove. She blamed our catcher for being unable to stop them, and told me I need to speak with [the catcher] and not Anna.
I removed her from the game.
March 15, 2026
I understand this thought of "Anna wants to continue the season". But we also need to truly ask ourselves if this current situation is healthy for anyone involved. Her mental health. The team dynamic. The parents watching, and of course the coaches.
My honest opinion, of someone who has been around students, and athletes for 22 years, is that she should take some time away from the team. Two weeks? More? Reset. Think about things.
Two days earlier, they had met to figure out how to help Anna stay. Now Ferreri was pointing to distress he was responsible for creating as a reason she should step away.
Later that day
“Why would I not want to play softball?”
After Hopewell
A year earlier, Anna had pitched complete games against Myers Park’s next two opponents.
This time, she dressed for both games but never entered the circle.
March 18, 2026
March 20, 2026
Hopewell had been Anna’s last appearance in the pitching circle.
But it wasn’t when she left.
She kept coming back.
To practice.
To games.
To the dugout.
She kept dressing in uniform.
She kept hoping she would play.
After the Hough game
Anna had not played that night against Hough. After the game, Thompson pulled her aside for corrective feedback.
The conversation was not about anything Anna had done on the field that night. It focused instead on her relationship with the coaching staff and whether trust could be rebuilt. It had begun without a parent or another trusted adult present, despite the family’s request.
By this point, after several conversations had later been described differently, we had begun recording them to preserve an accurate record of what was said. The following exchanges come from Anna’s recording that night.
Thompson
“Say hello when they walk in and say hello to you”
Anna
“I did say hello to you”
Thompson
“Every day you ignore him. Every day I say hi to you, and today you say hi. You don’t always say hi. When he asks you to do something you ignore him and walk away.”
Anna
“I gave him thumbs up and nodded my head in agreement”
Thompson
“Just say hi.”
Audio excerpt · March 20, 2026
Excerpt from a longer recorded conversation
Weeks earlier, the example Ferreri had chosen to explain his concerns about Anna was a missed high five before practice.
Thompson then questioned whether Anna wanted to be there.
Thompson
“I need to hear that that’s what you believe, that you actually want to be out here, and that’s why I ask the questions you want to be here, ’cause it doesn’t seem like you do.”
Anna
“You never asked me if I wanted to be here.”
Thompson
“We just went through that. I did, I said...”
Anna
“You asked if I was happy sitting on the bench. That’s different. ’Cause I’m here every day, and I’m at practice every day because I want to be here.”
Audio excerpt · March 20, 2026
Excerpt from a longer recorded conversation
She had not played since Hopewell.
Eventually, the conversation reached the issue underneath much of what had happened between Anna and Ferreri.
Anna
“What does he have to do to build my trust back?”
Thompson
“He doesn’t have to at this point. You do.”
Audio excerpt · March 20, 2026
Excerpt from a longer recorded conversation
Thompson had been in the March 13 meeting when Morgan read Anna’s list aloud. Three days later, after Erin met with Folk again, Morgan sent a written summary.
It named both things that mattered now: feedback delivered constructively, and no one on one conversations without a trusted adult present.
Thank you for taking the time to meet with Erin today to talk about Anna.
She mentioned revisiting the expectations that came out of the previous meeting:
“Yes, those are the items Erin mentioned to me.”
“I will discuss the agreements with Coach Ferreri. I will also request that the assistant coach is involved with future conversations so that no confusion exists with these interactions.”
We had asked for another adult because earlier interactions had later been described very differently by the coaching staff.
The agreement was that a parent or another trusted adult would be present. Thompson had already undermined Anna’s trust in him.
But he began this conversation with Anna before anyone she trusted was there. Morgan saw them talking from the stands and walked out to join them.
Morgan
“She’s supposed to have someone safe.”
Thompson
“You’re the only someone safe?”
Anna
“I don’t feel safe around... other people.”
Thompson
“Oh, I know, you don’t. Who’s the someone safe? So I know.”
Audio excerpt · March 20, 2026
Excerpt from a longer recorded conversation
March 25–30, 2026
Five days later, we took the concerns beyond Myers Park.
“I am writing to escalate ongoing concerns related to the Myers Park softball program after attempting to address these issues at the school level.”
“AD Poore and I talked with the Head coach, and we are working to meet all agreements to support Anna.”
“Our focus remains helping her work through any challenges she is facing.”
“It was clearly stated and agreed that Anna would not have one on one conversations with coaches without a safe person present.”
“This is the most important issue from our perspective. An agreed upon safeguard was not followed.”
“We agreed that Coach Glenn would interact with Anna instead of Coach Vinnie when possible and appropriate.”
“Any broader discussion about behavior, expectations, or her role on the team should only occur in a structured setting with a safe person present, as previously agreed”.
“From Anna’s perspective, having a clearly identified and consistent safe person would be helpful in making communication feel structured and supportive. We are open to aligning on who that should be.”
“Meanwhile, I will ask the coaches to follow the request.”
“We’ve now had multiple conversations, but we haven’t seen meaningful change in what is happening day to day, and that gap appears to be at the coaching level.”
“Our plan is to speak with Anna in the next two days and find some common ground.”
That conversation never happened.
Eventually, staying became harder than leaving.
Two years earlier, Anna helped Myers Park win its first state tournament game in a decade.
Now the girl who had counted down the days to high school softball was leaving before her junior season ended.
The season that began with talk of a “winning culture” ended 6–14. Five of Myers Park’s six wins came against two teams that won just three games combined.
Myers Park had one other win.
Anna had pitched all seven innings.
Every afternoon, I would sit in my car outside the softball field, trying to convince myself to get out. The game I had loved since I was five years old in my Tigers tee-ball uniform had become something I dreaded.
Just months earlier, I had been waiting for preseason workouts so I would be able to meet our new coach. Now, I was just waiting for the season to end.
When a new coach took over for my junior season, everything changed. Practices that were once exciting became something I endured. Conversations that were meant to help me improve became criticism of my ability, my leadership, who I was as a person outside of the sport, and even my commitment to play Division III softball.
This criticism eventually followed me off the field. I replayed every conversation, wondering if maybe he was right. I began to wonder if I belonged in the sport at all. The excitement I had once felt before games was now replaced with numbness. Practice was something I had to convince myself to attend. It changed more than just my confidence as a player; it changed the way I saw myself entirely.
After countless conversations, I realized I couldn’t control how someone else chose to see me, but I could control how much power I allowed his words to have. Walking away from my junior season was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made. I wasn’t leaving softball; I was leaving an environment that no longer reflected the values the sport had taught me. That experience reminded me that my worth isn’t determined by one person’s opinion. Sometimes, finding the courage to leave an environment behind is what allows you to rediscover yourself and what you love.