Sad news to report from the high school ranks as one of the top prep softball coach coaches in the country has died.
Pete Ackermann, who guided Oaks Christian of Westlake Village, Calif., to a 34-1 record last year and #7 final ranking in the 2022 Extra Elite 80 National High School Softball Rankings, passed away last Saturday at age 77.
The Southern California school issued a release honoring the coach shortly after he died—you can read it by clicking HERE.
Two years ago—almost to the day (Dec. 7, 2020)—Extra Inning Softball honored Coach Ackermann in the Extra Elite 100 High School Coach Rankings at #42.
Here’s the write-up on him at that time:
Coach Ackermann was selected the National Coach of the Year by the National Christian School Athletics Association in 2017. He eclipsed 500 career wins in 2019 and won his 13th league title in 2019. With a career record of 513-108-5 and three CIF Southern Section championships in 20 seasons at Oaks Christian, Ackermann is a fixture among the top softball coaches in Southern California.
“Coach Ackermann is one of the finest girls’ softball coaches in the country and Oaks Christian has been very fortunate to have had him for the past 17 seasons,” Lions athletics director Jan Hethcook said in a statement when he won the National Coach of the Year award.
“One of his greatest gifts of coaching is mentoring his young lady athletes on how to be great human beings who not only can excel in softball, but more importantly how to succeed in life by being productive, kind and caring people who understand the importance of serving others. This award is a testament to Pete’s dedication and commitment for many years of service to young people.”
Mark Tennis of Cal-Hi Sports—the definitive source for all things California high school sports and our national high school rankings editor—posted the following tribute on Monday (Dec. 5) and it is included here with his permission…
*****
Salute to Peter Ackermann
After the 2021 Oaks Christian High softball team ended its season with a 6-5 win over Roosevelt of Eastvale for the CIF Southern California D1 regional championship, head coach Pete Ackermann was looking forward to the 2022 season. He talked about some of the top players who would be returning, including three of the leading hitters — Anahi Arreola, Rylee McCoy and Lily Knox.
Sadly, Ackermann himself won’t be back. He had gone to the hospital earlier last week for surgery on his heart. According to assistant coach Steve Sakakini (who helps us with info from Oaks Christian on all of its teams), Ackermann had come through the surgery, but a complication arose two days later. He passed away early last Saturday morning. He was 77 years old.
“Pete was a serious individual and a ‘deep well’ that you needed to explore slowly over time in order to fully appreciate him,” said OCS Head of School Rob Black. “If you only crossed Pete’s path briefly, or had short conversations, you would miss out on who he really was. Without a doubt, above all else, Pete loved the Lord, his school, his friends and colleagues, and the softball student-athlete young women he coached and mentored at Oaks Christian. It is an incredible privilege and joy to have been able to count Pete as a dear and personal friend.”
Ackermann’s 2021 team ended the season 34-1 with its only loss to Los Alamitos in the CIF Southern Section D1 semifinals. At the time of the loss, the Lions were No. 1 in the state and in contention for the final No. 1 ranking in the nation (ExtraInningSoftball.com). Since it hardly ever happens that a team stays No. 1 after a loss, St. Francis of Mountain View was elevated the next week to No. 1 in the state and then didn’t lose for the rest of the season. That’s why Oaks Christian was No. 2 in the final state rankings, but regardless will go down as Ackermann’s best team.
For his career, Ackermann finished with a 651-148-1 record, which is currently 15th best in state history. He began his career in 1994 at Newbury Park and went to Oaks Christian when the school started in 2000. Another highlight of his career was a 46-game win streak from 2003 to 2004 that is still the CIF Southern Section record (tied for 6th on the state list). It also was during that time in 2004 when Ackermann was named State Coach of the Year.
Ackermann got the most satisfaction, however, when he’d visit with former players and students.
“Wins and losses are not as important as establishing relationships with students,” Ackermann was quoted as saying in the release by the school about his death. “As coaches, we need to open up about ourselves and show how much we care about the young men and women we coach. Sometimes they don’t get it instantly, but it opens doors for communication down the road. I get such pleasure staying in touch with our alumni, and when they come back to visit and I get to see their life’s success and their new families. That’s the real win.”
Pete was always supportive of the work we do at Cal-Hi Sports and he often took time to send in nominations of his players for various honors. We will miss our interactions with him and we send our deepest condolences to the Oaks Christian athletic community.
— Mark Tennis, CalHiSports.com & Extra Inning Softball National Rankings Editor
