NE Valley Times

The Fountain Hills Unified School district has yet to make a public comment regarding former middle school baseball coach Mike Modra after a student was injured during a baseball practice in November of 2022. 

The student was injured during a November 4, 2022 practice when Modra was setting up the pitch machine, which proceeded to send a fast pitch which hit the student in the orbital bone, resulting in a fractured orbital bone, sinuses, and a concussion.

According to eyewitness reports, Modra continued to work with the pitch machine while the student made his way to the dugout where he was not checked on, nor was practice stopped. The student was able to call his parents, who came to get him and were able to bring him to the hospital for treatment after the emergency room said his injuries were “too significant to be treated at this location.” The student spent a week at home recovering. 

According to the family, they asked for, but never received any notice of disciplinary action or a supervision plan for Modra until January of 2024 when Modra was part of a personnel action item during a board meeting, and the family was later notified he would “no longer be coaching for Fountain Hills Unified School District.”

Despite this, Modra was seen at a recent high school game coaching third base. When asked, the district said “volunteer coaching decisions rest with the head coach of the program for all of our athletic teams. Coach Langer elected to permit Mr. Modra to volunteer and since he completed all the required steps and documents to do so, Mr. Modra was allowed to volunteer.”

Modra made public comments at the January 17 board meeting, claiming his was a “wrongful termination” and asked that he be “reinstated as middle school coach with full season pay and with the agreement and acknowledgement from me that coach Kyle finished the season.” No comment about the student’s injury was made during his public comment.