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Longtime Wayne coach Ferraro resigns

The veteran baseball mentor leaves after 22 seasons; Jason Stringfield takes the helm.

$\uFEFFFormer Wayne High School baseball coach Tony Ferraro\uFEFF with (from left) Alex Earley, Jordan Wolfe and Brian Suerdick. All three have committed to D-1 schools. Contributed photo by Ed Roberts$

Ed Roberts \uFEFFFormer Wayne High School baseball coach Tony Ferraro\uFEFF with (from left) Alex Earley, Jordan Wolfe and Brian Suerdick. All three have committed to D-1 schools. Contributed photo by Ed Roberts

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By Mickey Zezzo, Contributing Writer Updated 3:41 AM Thursday, November 12, 2009

HUBER HEIGHTS — When Wayne High School’s baseball Warriors report for spring practice next March, it’s a whole new ballgame with a new look.

And you can start at the top. Missing from the practice field will be the familiar face of veteran Tony Ferraro, probably the most successful coach in Warrior history.

Ferraro has resigned in a surprising and strange set of circumstances ignited by a “barrage” of letters from complaining parents and players.

Under school policy, he was given the opportunity to renew his normal one-year contract, according to Huber Heights Schools Superintendent William Kirby, but instead he sent Kirby an official resignation.

“He knew about the letters and was obviously bothered by it,” said Kirby. “As teachers and administrators at Wayne we have a lot of respect for Tony. I would hope some day my son would have a coach like Tony.”

Kirby referred to Ferraro as “strictly a class act.”

Stringfield steps in

Explaining the delay in any announcement (Ferraro resigned last spring after his 22nd season as head baseball coach) both Kirby and Wayne Athletic Director and head football coach Jay Minton said Ferraro insisted on “no big deal” publicity-wise.

Ferraro, still a social studies teacher at Weisenborn Junior High in Huber Heights, has refused to comment.

He has been replaced by Jason Stringfield, who played for Ferraro and has been the Warriors baseball JV coach since 2001. Stringfield is also the varsity golf coach.

“Tony did have a couple of rough .500 seasons the past two years and parents complained about him not updating his coaching style,” said Minton. “But he took pride in his rapport with his athletes and is obviously hurt.

“He has been a wonderful coach, as far as I am concerned. I told him we don’t let parents hire or fire our coaches and that I wanted him to stay, but he insisted on calling it quits. It’s a big loss for us because you can’t substitute for experience ... and we will miss him.”

Recruiting assist

Ferraro, inducted into the Miami Valley Baseball Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame in March of ’08, won numerous coach of the year awards in both baseball and girls basketball and assisted many student-athletes in acquiring college scholarships.

Some of the hottest recruits who got a Ferraro boost into the college ranks included catcher Brian Suerdick (Kentucky), pitchers Alex Earley (Youngstown State), Jordan Wolfe (Wright State), Kyle Hopqwood (Sinclair), pitcher/third baseman Tom Coombs (Eastern Michigan), outfielder Ryan Ashe (Wright State) and infielder Blaine Reese (Sinclair).

One of his all-time best Warrior products, first baseman/outfielder Zach Stewart, wound up at Ohio Dominican.

For many years, he was one of the coaches selected for the Bob Ross All-Star prep attraction at Fifth Third Field, a summer event that draws a horde of collegiate scouts to the Dragons’ field.

Ferraro was particularly close to his late parents and he was tagged “Little Joe” by his father when he was starring as a center fielder at Wright State. His father, a native New Yorker, was an avid Yankee and Joe DiMaggio fan.

Contact this writer with story ideas at (937) 236-6032 or mickeyz@zoomtown.com.

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At least Wayne has listened to the community. Many AD's and coaches feel they have no accountability to the public and years of legitimate complaints fall on deaf ears. How many parents say nothing out of fear of retribution for kids that are still in the system? Or the all too common responses from AD's.."you can't please everyone" or "your always going to have some complaints." Well, at what point does "some" become too many?

N-mont06
8:31 PM, 11/12/2009

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As someone who played for Ferraro I know he had some weaknesses and could have done things different. But for parents to send around a petition and then for Minton to go along with it is absurd. Minton may win football games, although not as many as he should, but as an AD he is completely incompetent. Forcing a coach who has been around that long is absolutely pathetic.

Wayne 03
7:19 PM, 11/12/2009

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