Pfeiffer's Coach Monte Sherrill Celebrates 35 Years at the Craft

Pfeiffer Head Softball Coach Monte Sherrill doesn't need an introduction. 35 years of excellence in North Carolina high school and collegiate softball earn you that.

Currently in his 10^th season at the helm of the Falcon Softball program, Sherrill just captured the USA South Tournament and regular season titles for the third consecutive season. Sherrill also led Pfeiffer to a USA South regular season title in 2021.

It all started back in 1988 for Sherrill. That's when he found himself as a first-year teacher at Alexander Central High School in Taylorsville, N.C.

It was then that he started his streak, where conference championships were not just celebrated but became commonplace. Since then - truly the start of the road - Sherrill has maintained a storied career that's taken him far beyond Alexander County lines.

To say Sherrill has come away with more wins than losses would be an understatement.

Currently, Sherrill's collegiate career record stands at 346-86. This ranks him top of the Pfeiffer record books. Couple that with the 753-60 record he garnered during his 26-year career at the high school level, and Sherrill boasts a 1,099-144 overall mark.

Within that time, there are smaller record winning streaks: a run of 84 consecutive wins at Central Cabarrus and a streak of 95 consecutive wins at Alexander Central.

More impressively, there has not been a single season without some kind of championship to find its way past Sherrill. Many Coach of the Year awards adorn his mantle, but in all likelihood, only a trophy case would house all of his hardware.

Just a few laurels to note, though: National Fastpitch Coach of the Year Awards in 2005 and 2014. MaxPreps Coach of the Year honors in 2014.

Pfeiffer's USA South championships of 2025 earned mark the 35^th straight year that Sherrill has won a conference title.

Over the years, Sherrill's practice regimen has become a finely tuned machine.

"We really try to layer our development during practice," said Sherrill.  "Every day, we prioritize getting one percent better every day.  Our players learn how to anticipate different situations, evaluate the options on the table, and execute quickly, succinctly and without hesitation."

Over the years, Sherrill's teams have earned the reputation of being aggressive in baserunning.  "Our players read three defensive players to steal bases, much like an option-style quarterback does in football.  Our kids love this aspect and it's proven to be highly successful and, in most cases, unstoppable."

Another major factor in the success of Sherrill and his Pfeiffer teams is the strength of the pitching staff.  "There's a scientific method of calling pitches," he says.  

Sherrill has spent time with Dusty Blake, who served as Pfeiffer Head Baseball Coach from 2013-2017.  After his time with the Falcons, Blake went on to serve as pitching coach at Duke University from 2018-2020 before being hired by the St. Louis Cardinals as a pitching strategist. He was promoted to pitching coach in 2023.  

Sherrill has also gained insight and guidance over the years from Mike Shildt, former St. Louis Cardinals Manager and the current San Diego Padres Skipper, and Perry Husband, a renowned EV Specialist and pioneer in the world of baseball metrics. Time with other greats of the game have led Sherrill to use this science and apply it to his teams, translating into better hitters and increasingly dominant pitching.

"There is a real science to the games of softball and baseball. The more you understand the analytics, the better you master the game. And I'm here to be a student of it."

However, the key to Sherrill's programs has always been its players: the caliber and quality of them. Like others, he recruits high-level players that have earned all-conference accolades, player of the year awards, and broken countless records. But the girls who join his programs are cut from a different cloth. Sherrill recruits players who sign up for doing things the right way - as opposed to what comes easy - and a culture of character and hard work.

"We build up and pour into strong, independent women," Sherrill states.  "After our teams get through what we call the 'storming phase' of development, they run the show."

Sherrill sharpens and develops his players' skills, but he also pushes them to lead. "Their personal leadership skills are what really accelerates our team to a high degree of performance.  Each member of our program is a contributor to our overall success."

Much of the leadership skills that Sherrill passes onto his players were learned from his time serving our country. While a student at Pfeiffer, Sherrill joined the Marine Corps Reserves and completed basic training at the infamous Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island, S.C.  Sherrill was also a baseball player in The Village, playing for Falcon legend Joe Ferebee, who also served his country in the United States Navy during World War II.

Echoes of his time in the Marines and old-school methods like Ferebee's live in all aspects of his programs: in the iconic pinstripe pants his players wear - even in their length since they're long pants, like in baseball, all the way to the cleats; in the crisp cadence of his pre-game BP and his players' stretching lines that you could measure with a ruler; in the steel-toed stoicism of his coaches, players and managers during the National Anthem. They don't twitch until the song bleeds into silence, and a designated player yells "play ball."

After graduating from Pfeiffer in 1987, Sherrill completed his military service in 1989. He began his coaching career immediately after at Alexander Central from 1989-2002.  He went on to coach at Central Cabarrus High School from seasons 2004-2007 and returned to Alexander Central from 2008-2015.

Sherrill took over the Pfeiffer program in 2016.

"We train champions by straight-forward truth. It solidifies our mission: to be the best team on the field by working harder, learning quicker, and flushing mistakes quicker."

Sherrill is a proud father to three daughters, and had the opportunity to see all three compete and graduate from Pfeiffer as Falcons. He coached his two oldest daughters - Bailey, from 2016 - 2018, and Vada, an NFCA All-American, from 2016 - 2020 - in the early years of the softball program, and watched his youngest daughter, Darby, on the Pfeiffer Tennis Team from 2019 - 2023.

"It's not where you start, it's where you finish," Sherrill said.  "I am passionate about being the best in everything I do. My goal is to instill my players with that same hunger: to be the best at whatever they set their minds to: be it softball, or life."

Coach Ferebee, one of Sherrill's heroes, attended a Pfeiffer Softball game in 2018. He was 99 years of age at the time. Sherrill and Assistant Coach Johnny Meadows (who became a blood brother of Sherrill's, while they both played for Ferebee) walked over to the fence where their college coach sat in his wheelchair. Sherrill vividly remembers asking Ferebee "how do you like those uniforms, coach?"

Ferebee smiled big and nodded his head in approval. And all Sherrill and Meadows could do was cry, at the acceptance of a man who had shaped them and made them.

"Coach Ferebee taught me a lot of lessons, but that day brought one full circle: take care of the process, and the outcome will come." Sherrill remarks.

With 35 championships in 35 years, the outcomes have come. But it's not likely that process is something Sherrill's quite finished with...yet.