There will be a whole new coaching staff next spring in the Marblehead High girls tennis program.
After 10 years as head coach, Tracy Ackerman decided that 2026 will be her last season along the sidelines. Previously, Ackerman had coached the JV2 girls soccer team for two seasons, and was also a JV boys golf coach for one year, as well as a youth softball coach and board member, when her daughters went through the system.
Her husband and assistant coach, Bill, who has coached other varsity sports while also being involved in youth baseball as a coach and board member, not to mention youth softball and basketball, won’t be around either.
“We both got involved in coaching, because we felt that it was a great way to give back to the community,” said Tracy, who admits that it’s time to move on. “Bill started helping us out the last three years, and was able to bring his coaching (expertise) to the team right away, especially to our singles players.”
Tracy’s longtime JV coach LuAnn Gabel is also stepping away from the high school sports scene. “We started this journey together 10 years ago, and decided to end it together, as well,” said Ackerman. “LuAnn was the perfect JV coach. She prepared and motivated the girls to improve their games to (eventually) make varsity, while also providing a supportive environment for many, many girls that went through her program.”
Tracy’s career record as a varsity tennis coach was 126-45. Her teams reached the state tournament nine times in as many years. The only year that they missed the postseason was in the 2020 COVID year, when there wasn’t any.
In two separate regular seasons, her Magicians recorded perfect 19-0 records. They also earned the second seed three times in Division 2.
To amass such a remarkable record, Tracy knows that she needed extraordinary athletes to pull it off. But there was one player who stood out above the rest, according to Tracy, and she was Michelle Shub, who graduated in 2019.
‘(Shub) was a sophomore in my first year,” Ackerman said. “She completely dominated the (Northeastern Conference) all three of those years that I coached her, before going on to play at Tufts University. Her talent and work ethic were extraordinary. Even after she graduated, she would continue to show up at practice to talk to the girls or just to say hello. As an aside, my favorite days were always when alumni would pop by to say hi. I was really proud of that.”
As far as trying to list an All-Ackerman Team, Tracy said that would be just an impossible task. “There were too many (talented) kids to count, but they know who they are,” she said.
Sports have always played a huge role in Tracy’s life. “They were a big part of my youth,” she said. “I loved to play them all, and did not specialize in any one thing, but soccer, basketball, softball and tennis were my favorites.”
Tracy, a 1984 MHS graduate, along with her husband Bill, was a three-sport captain. “I was on a very successful tennis team that went 72-0 in my four years as a Magician athlete,” she said. “I played first singles in my senior year. Bill also played first singles on the boys team that year, before going on to become a college player.”
Tracy attended Boston College, where she did not play any sports. But about 20 years ago, she started playing competitive tennis once again at the Bass River Tennis Club in Beverly. “I’m still really involved in team tennis there, and I love it,” she added.
In the 10 years that Tracy has been at the helm, she’s most proud of getting the new tennis courts built at the high school in 2020 for her players, as well as the community at-large to enjoy. “When I took over the program, the courts were in such bad shape that we had to play our matches at Seaside Park,” she said. “But then, a group of 10, led by Muffy Paquette, which I was also a part of, spearheaded a project to (solicit) private donations to cover 100% of the costs for the new courts.”
But when it’s all said and done, it’s the student-athletes that Tracy will miss the most. “The personal development and growth of the girls over the years was extremely satisfying to me,” she said. “But it’s the behind-the-scenes little things like the laughter during warmups, the chatter on the bus, the small talk of exams, prom dates, college decision times, ice cream trips, nicknames and so on that I will never forget. Overall, I hope I have passed on my love and passion for tennis to (all my athletes). To me, tennis has been a lifetime sport, and I hope it is for many of them, as well.”
