Tracy L. Hughes-Hatfield

1965 - 2017

(News story) Tracy L. Hughes-Hatfield, a star student athlete who in recent years coached varsity volleyball and softball teams at Woodward High School, died Tuesday in University of Toledo Medical Center, the former Medical College of Ohio Hospital. She was 52.

She did not regain consciousness after suffering cardiac arrest Saturday, said her wife, Audrey Currier-Reasti.

Ms. Hughes-Hatfield was a coach at Woodward for about four years, starting as a junior varsity softball coach and an assistant volleyball coach.

She was dedicated to her players and "was all business when it was game time," according to a Toledo Public Schools statement. "She had a winning smile that would light up the room and a heart of gold."

Ms. Hughes-Hatfield also took extra steps to make sure students could play. She helped arrange tutoring for some. She had a store of peanut butter and apples at school for those from homes where food was scarce. She helped others get uniforms and shoes and mitts.

"She was a very knowledgeable coach and a genuine, compassionate coach," said Alice Murray, former head volleyball coach. "Tracy fit the dynamics we face at Woodward."

Woodward's teams are Polar Bears, and Ms. Hughes-Hatfield called her players her cubs. She was helping a former team member, Woodward graduate Becky Hall, go through the steps to become an assistant coach. She and Ms. Currier-Reasti had taken Ms. Hall into their Springfield Township home.

Back surgery caused Ms. Hughes-Hatfield to stop playing softball several years before she went to Woodward - and caused her to leave the line at General Motors Co.'s Toledo Transmission Plant, where she worked for 18 years.

"It got to the point where she couldn't stand not coaching," her wife said. "That's all she'd ever done, softball, coaching or playing."

She was born Jan. 21, 1965, to Sharon and Charles Hughes. She grew up in Holland and was a 1983 graduate of Springfield High School. She was a four-year varsity letter winner in softball, volleyball, basketball, and tennis. As an alumna, she was a hall of fame inductee. She went on to play softball at the University of Toledo, from which she received a bachelors's degree in physical education.

She found a supporter in her father, a Libbey-Owens-Ford glass worker and a longtime high school softball umpire. He transported his daughter and her teammates to tournaments in the family camper.

Surviving are her wife, Audrey Currier-Reasti, whom she married April 5, 2013; two stepsons, and a stepgrandson.

Visitation will be from 3-8 p.m. Saturday at Neville Funeral Home, Southwest Chapel, on Airport Highway in Springfield Township.

This is a news story by Blade staff writer Mark Zaborney. Contact him at: mzaborney@theblade.com or 419-724-6182.