Community Sports
Hackett staying as GHHS girls basketball coach
Michele Hackett will remain the coach of the Gig Harbor High School girls basketball team, according to a letter principal Bob Marshall and Peninsula School District Athletic Director Wendy Malich sent to team parents on May 4.
That shouldn’t be surprising, considering that Hackett led the Tides to the Puget Sound League Narrows Division championship and a state tournament win in 2025-26.
But it was a reversal from earlier communications sent by Hackett and Marshall to team families, which indicated that GHHS Athletic Director Blair Suek had fired her.
However, the Monday letter from Marshall and Malich told parents that “Hackett should never have been released from her contract in the first place.”
Gig Harbor coach Michele Hackett speaks with her team during a game last season. Photo courtesy of Michele Hackett
The May 4 letter also said that the “decision to end Coach Hackett’s tenure was made without consulting district administration, and proper administrative protocols were not followed. … The district wholeheartedly supports (Hackett’s) goals and the strong, positive culture she is building for our student athletes.”
Ashley Murphy, the district’s chief of finance and operations, clarified in a message to Gig Harbor Now that “the human resources department was not aware of the non-renewal” of Hackett’s contract. HR is the only department that “has approval authority for both hiring and termination of employee contracts,” which was “one of the reasons why the decision was reversed,” Murphy said.
Hackett said GHHS AD told her she ‘wasn’t the best fit’
Most parents likely learned of the issue in a message from Hackett on April 24. Hackett wrote that Suek “told me that she had spoken with players and that the general consensus was that I wasn’t the best fit for this particular program and community.”
Hackett added that “my heart is sad” about the decision and that she would “miss you dearly.”
Marshall, the school principal, followed with a message to families on April 29 confirming that “Michele Hackett will no longer serve as our head coach.” He wrote that he “could not share specific details regarding personnel matters,” but the decision was made “with the best interests of the students and our program in mind.”
Marshall’s message did not mention any of the problems with “administrative protocols” referenced in the May 4 message he co-signed with Malich.
Support from families
The May 4 letter seems to contradict the assertion that players believed Hackett was a poor fit. In fact, the letter from Malich and Marshall said “numerous athletes and parents have contacted the district and the school to overwhelmingly advocate for Coach Hackett to remain as head coach.”
The 2025-’26 season was Hackett’s first coaching the Tides. She led them to a 19-6 record, including 14-2 in the PSL’s Narrows Division.
They defeated Kelso, 54-21, in the opening round of the state tournament. It was the program’s first state tournament win in eight years. Gig Harbor lost to White River on Feb. 28 in the second round, 44-43, ending their season a game short of the main state tournament draw in the Tacoma Dome.
Nonetheless, Hackett earned the PSL Narrows Division Coach of the Year award in her debut season with the Tides.
Program in turmoil
Hackett is Gig Harbor’s third girls basketball coach in two seasons.
Peninsula School District placed former coach Tim Olson and his assistants on leave in January 2025. Documents obtained via records request later revealed that parents reported the coaches for drinking alcohol during a team trip to Florida in December 2024.
Dan Dizon, the district’s executive director of human resources, replaced Olson on the sidelines for the remainder of last year.
Hackett, a retired Seattle police officer and a member of the Seattle University sports Hall of Fame, took over this season.
She told Gig Harbor Now that she is happy to remain the coach of the Tides.
“I’m grateful for all of the support I’ve received and I’m looking forward to continuing to build our team-first culture at GHHS,” Hackett said. “The sky’s the limit when we support and play for each other. I am really appreciative of the support I received from the district leadership and I’m looking forward to our partnership this upcoming season.”