Not many can say they have a softball program like Gretna, which has gone 66-10 over the past two seasons. There are currently over a dozen GHS softball alumni playing at the college level. Brooke and Billie Andrews (UNL) and Ensley Frame (Creighton) currently play for in-state D1 universities. But with the split of the current high school, Gretna East will obtain a new pool of talent. The district decided not to look far, and instead hired current assistant coach Mr. Wade Tracy to be the first head coach of the softball program.
Coach Tracy has primarily stayed local. Growing up in Omaha, he graduated from Millard North before going to Concordia University. Following his first degree, he went northeast and attended Ohio University to get his master’s degree in Sports Administration. Finally, he got his teaching degree in Business Education and master’s in Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Nebraska Kearney. He then became a teacher, which he has stuck with for the past eight years.
Being a coach can take up a lot of time, but Coach Tracy embraces it. He began coaching baseball in 2009 for Seward and remained there until 2010. After a stint with Boys Town from 2011 through 2013, he coached Gretna baseball with current head coach Mr. Jake Wolf from 2013 until 2015. His final job with baseball was from 2015 to 2020 with Bellevue West, where he also taught for seven years. Coach Tracy moved back to Gretna this past year and took over the assistant softball coaching position. In the classroom, he currently teaches the Personal Finance and Intro to Business courses. He will finally return to head coaching when he steps intakes the new job at Gretna East toand leads a sport that he said intrigues him for many reasons.
“I love the speed of softball, everything happens so fast,” Coach. Tracy wrote in an email. “Offensively, if you can be aggressive, you can make things happen quickly. Same thing on defense; you have to move at an incredible speed or the offense will take advantage.”
Besides teaching and coaching, Coach Tracy has a lot on his plate. He and his wife, Emily, are the parents of four kids: Tanner (10), Brooks (7), Colby (7) and Parker (3). Many can find him out watching his kids in any type of event, supporting them in everything they do.
“I love going to my kids’ activities,” Mr. Tracy wrote in an email. “I have three sons and a daughter, so whether it’s baseball, softball, football, basketball, wrestling, hockey or dance, I love going and watching them do things they love.”
Tradition also is very important to Coach Tracy, and he plans to lay the groundwork for another program to flourish. With a community like Gretna, he will definitely have the best backing and fan base every coach wants. Similar to any coach, he remembers how he got to this point and embraces the year ahead.
“I’d like to thank the administration for giving me this opportunity,” Mr. Tracy wrote in an email. “I’d also like to thank Bill Heard for allowing me to be part of his staff this past season and pick his brain all year, and to all the coaches at GHS for everything they have done for me. I’m very excited about getting to work with all the Griffins.”