When he turned sixteen, Ferreira dropped out of high school and began working at a pool hall that used to exist in Inman Square, earning $1.95 per hour, which he says was a good wage at the time.

He was told that if he swept the floors and cleaned tables, he could shoot pool for free. For seven years, he watched the experts at the pool hall and took tips from each one, playing for as much as 100 hours each week.

“I was making five to seven hundred dollars a week shooting pool,” he remembers. “Pool saved me. It was a good way to get money, and I didn’t have to steal.”

Ferreira has also held down stints as a bartender and now works at various odd jobs. His eyes light up with pride as he describes his role teaching his daughter Jessica how to play softball and coaching her teams in elementary and middle school.

“I’ve never missed a single game,” he says. “I would ride a hundred miles on my bike to see her play.”

After what he describes as a difficult childhood, Ferreira says athletic programs are an essential positive outlet for youth.

Ferreira—who says he wishes he could have been a teacher—also derives satisfaction from the lessons he gives at the pool tables.

“I was born to show people how to shoot,” he says. In all of his coaching roles, he says he tries to convey “the three D’s—desire, determination, and dedication.”

Pool is a hard game to master, Ferreira says, but he emphasizes that practice, not luck, is the key to success. “You can only be consistent if you play every day,” he says. “You have to create muscle memory. Drill. Break it down to mechanics. Repeat it over and over so you don’t ever have to think about it.”