SWFL.io - Local NewsMiyoshi Price
•8/21/2026
FORT MYERS, Fla. (WINK)— The Florida High School Athletic Association has sanctioned Evangelical Christian School and head softball coach Johnny Manetta after determining Manetta violated its recruiting rules by communicating with a student-athlete after she had been enrolled at another school.
The association's investigation examined several allegations, including text messages Manetta sent the player and questions about a housing arrangement involving the player and her father. The association ultimately found Manetta violated its improper-contact policy based on the text messages.
Manetta acknowledges sending the messages but disputes that he was intentionally trying to recruit the player. The player's father also disputes that characterization. The player's grandmother, who says she and the player's mother pursued the complaint, tells WINK News they saw the communication and other circumstances surrounding the player differently. They called it manipulative.
According to the association's records, the player was withdrawn from Evangelical Christian School and enrolled at another school.
The investigation focused on messages Manetta sent the player during that period, including telling her she needed to get herself switched back to ECS if she wanted him to continue helping her. The player did return to ECS following the text conversation according to the Coach, the father and grandmother of the player.
Manetta acknowledges sending the messages.
“If you want to say that I committed a violation by contacting a student at another school, then yes, apparently I did,” Manetta told WINK News. But he said he did not know she had already been enrolled at another school when he sent the message.
Manetta said his concern at the time was the player's softball future and helping her secure an opportunity to play in college.
“My concern was is that we were working on getting a college scholarship, and I was helping her do so,” Manetta said.
He later explained that once he learned she was attending another high school, he knew he could no longer assist her in the same capacity without creating recruiting concerns.
The association determined the communication violated its recruiting policy.
The Florida High School Athletic Association imposed separate sanctions against the school and Manetta. According to the sanction documents provided to WINK News, Evangelical Christian School's penalties include:
A formal reprimand.
A $2,500 monetary penalty.
Administrative probation for one calendar year, from April 27, 2026 through April 26, 2027.
The administrative probation applies to Evangelical Christian School, not Manetta personally. The sanctions do not prevent the softball team from playing.
The association separately imposed sanctions on Manetta. The document classifies the violation as a first offense.
The punishment language in the document states:
“The employee shall forfeit $5,000 of his/her salary, if applicable. This amount shall not be paid to the FHSAA.”
Manetta is ineligible to coach or attend an interscholastic softball contest, at any level, for one calendar year, from June 1, 2026 through May 31, 2027.
Manetta told WINK News he believes the punishment is too harsh and plans to appeal.
“I believe that I actually haven't had my day in court,” Manetta said. He said he had not spoken directly with the association before the ruling. “We're gonna file an appeal and, you know, hope for the best.”
Manetta said he and school officials planned to begin the appeal process.
The player's father told WINK News he knew Manetta was communicating directly with his daughter and said he trusted the coach to do so.
“I fully, fully, fully trust Johnny with the best interest of” his daughter, the father said.
The father also disputes the suggestion that Manetta's message meant his daughter could not be successful elsewhere.
He said he understood “help” to mean the additional softball development Manetta was providing.
“It really helping means he couldn't help her with the IQ of the game,” the father said, pointing to “the extra reps and extra work that she was getting from him.”
The father also denied ever telling his daughter she could not be successful if she attended Dunbar, although he said he believed ECS offered a stronger softball situation.
When asked whether Manetta ever told his daughter her college opportunities depended on staying at ECS, the father said, “No.”
The complaint also raised questions about housing involving the player and her father.
The grandmother told WINK News she learned they were staying in a home connected to Manetta's family. She said that information became part of what the family submitted to the Florida High School Athletic Association.
The housing allegation requires an important distinction.
The association's investigation examined evidence connecting the player and her father to the address identified in the complaint. However, the sanction against Manetta was based on his improper contact with the player while she was enrolled at another school. The sanction was not issued for providing the housing itself.
That distinction is important because the grandmother views the housing as part of a larger pattern of concern, while Manetta and the player's father describe it as help provided to a family that needed somewhere to live.
Manetta: ‘I was trying to help out a friend’
Manetta confirms he helped the player and her father with housing.
He told WINK News that a home where he had lived had been damaged by flooding. He said the player and her father later needed somewhere to stay and he helped them get into the property.
“I wasn't trying to coax her into staying at ECS,” Manetta said. “I was trying to help out a friend.”
Manetta said the player had already attended ECS for years and argues there was no agreement tying the housing to her continuing to play softball for the school.
“I will not apologize for helping a family in need,” Manetta said.
Manetta later clarified that he did not own the house. He said he had previously lived there and helped the family move into it after he left because the property had been damaged and was affordable.
The player's father confirms he and his daughter lived at the property.
When asked directly whether they lived at the address investigated by the association, he said yes. He said Manetta helped them after another living arrangement ended.
But the father adamantly denies there was an agreement requiring his daughter to attend ECS in exchange for housing.
“He didn't come by and say, ‘Hey, I'm gonna give you this. You can go here. You can pay me, and [she's] gotta come to ECS,’” the father said. “It didn't work like that.”
The father said he and his daughter stayed at the property for roughly a year.
He characterized Manetta's actions as someone helping his family when they needed it.
“How can you report somebody that's helping your daughter?” the father said.
The interviews reveal sharply different perspectives about the relationship between Manetta and the player.
The grandmother believes boundaries were crossed and says the complaint was intended to address what she viewed as problems with communication, influence and transparency — not to interfere with the player's future.
“We were trying to get respect and order from the coach,” she said.
The player's father sees Manetta's involvement differently. He said he trusted Manetta with his daughter and believes the coach was helping her develop as a softball player rather than attempting to improperly recruit her.
Manetta also maintains his intentions were to help the player. But the Florida High School Athletic Association's ruling is based on whether his conduct complied with its recruiting policy — and the association determined the text communication crossed that line.
Manetta now intends to challenge that decision.
He said he has coached high school softball in Lee County for 17 years without a previous grievance and believes the one-year penalty is harsh. He also said the experience has made him question whether he will return to coaching if the sanction stands.
“If I've coached my last game at ECS, I will be thankful for the time I had there,” Manetta said.