Honor is ‘30 some years in the making’

By Joseph Goral
Staff Writer
jgoral@mihomepaper.com
 LAKE ORION — Lake Orion High School Tennis Coach Eric Bracciano was inducted to the Michigan High School Tennis Coaches Association Hall of Fame on Jan. 31, according to a Lake Orion Community Schools news release.
To be eligible for a selection committee vote, coaches must have coached high school tennis in Michigan for at least 20 years as a head coach and or assistant coach, and have worked cooperatively with other coaches for the advancement of the game of tennis.
“I’m definitely very proud,” Bracciano said. “One of the biggest things as a human is just earning respect at the highest level of my craft. This is 30 some years in the making. I’ve been involved in over 30 years, so I take a lot of pride in it.”
Bracciano began coaching boys and girls tennis in 2005. Since then, he was the Regional Coach of the Year nine times, the 2021 Girls Division One State Coach of the Year and the Overall State Coach of the Year.
LOHS’s boys team are 160-84-12, and won one OAA league title under Bracciano. The girls team is 174-68-9 and won two OAA titles under his coaching, according to the release.
Seven of Bracciano’s players achieved All-State status, several graduates became certified USPTR tennis professionals, and others played Division two and three tennis.
He also coached Annie Sauer to an undefeated regular season and the top seed in the state tournament.
Outside of LOHS, Bracciano established community summer lessons to help people of all ages improve their tennis skills, and started a middle school program in 2011.
“We started really from the grassroots, trying to get kids at an early age, just like every other sport, football, soccer, basketball, trying to get them playing tennis early so we could compete in Oakland County, which is just so cutthroat in any sport,” he said.
Bracciano also served on the MHSTECA Board of Directors, and taught at Deer Lake Athletic Club from 2006-2021. He has been Director of Tennis at Oakhurst Country Club in Clarkston since 2018.
As a player, Bracciano won over 62 singles and doubles titles, played USTA 5.0 and 4.5 tennis, and advanced to the sectionals event several times.
Others inducted in the 2025 class with Bracciano included Nancy Martin (Portage Central), Ann Marie Michol (Warren DeLaSalle and Utica) and Oscar Rodriguez (Lapeer West).