Mark Ferfolia Jr., or “Coach Ferf” as the players all know him, is in his seventh season with the Gilmour Lancers' hockey program. The 2024-2025 campaign will mark his sixth year assisting with the Boys Prep team, and fourth year with the Boys 16-U AAA team. Ferfolia also spent three seasons as head coach for Gilmour’s Varsity B team, which included a runner-up finish in the JV State tournament during the 2020-2021 season.

Coach Ferfolia grew up playing hockey for the Garfield Heights youth program before playing for the Trojans at Trinity High School, where he was a three-year letterman and part of the 2006 senior class that amassed the best four-year record in school history. He then went on to play at the University of Akron, where he spent one year with the ACHA DIII club team.

Prior to coaching for the Lancers, Coach Ferfolia got his start during the 2006-07 season as a graduate assistant at his alma mater Trinity High School, working alongside his father, Mark Ferfolia Sr., then-head coach of the Trojans and current head coach of Gilmour’s Varsity B team. Following his years at Trinity, he served a two-year stint at Chagrin Falls High School as the defensive and special teams coach. After taking a season off, Ferfolia found himself at Normandy High School. He spent four years under head coach Jim Jackson and was part of the staff that led the Invaders to a 2017-18 campaign that included a Baron Cup III runner-up finish and an overall record of 24-7.

In addition to coaching at the high school and AAA levels, he spent three years as an assistant with the Bantam AA team in the Gilmour Youth Hockey Association as the offensive and special teams coach. During his three seasons with the Gladiators, he helped lead the team to two division crowns and two playoff championships, narrowly missing a trip to the 14-U Tier II National tournament during the 2017-18 season.

In his mission to give back to the game, Coach Ferfolia is also a Level 4 USA Hockey certified coach and spent two years as a Coach Developer for USA Hockey’s coaching clinics where he helped as a producer behind-the-scenes. He also served as an evaluator for the Mid-AM District Camps, where players are evaluated in both skill sessions and games, then rated, with the top players advancing to the USA Hockey National Development Camp.

Coach Ferfolia currently resides in Willoughby, Ohio, and is employed by Tradesmen International, as their Corporate Facilities and Construction Coordinator. As a true fan of the game, he enjoys watching hockey at the high school, AAA, junior, college and professional levels. During the offseason, Coach Ferfolia enjoys golfing, traveling, is an avid documentary watcher and is continuously trying to perfect his homemade pizza.