Boys athlete of the year: Ackerman shines in all seasons for Omaha Central

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

John Ackerman thought his son might have some athletic ability at a young age.

From watching him play a sport he'd never tried before.

"I remember the very first time that he got my attention. I think he was in kindergarten, and he was about to play micro soccer. He didn't know what soccer was," John said of his son Ike.

"We went out in the backyard, and I'm kind of showing him how to kick the ball, then all of a sudden he's like, 'Oh, I want to be the goalie,' and I was going to try to score. And his eyes got super big, and he just stared at that ball.

"And I'm like, 'oh my God, this kid's intense."

That intensity has served Ike well over the years. And it's a big reason why the Omaha Central graduate is the Journal Star's prep boys athlete of the year.

People are also reading... Fast-food chain may be back in Lincoln after 20-year absence Sheriff IDs driver killed in crash west of Lincoln Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen to seek $500M state budget cut in 2026 Haymarket restaurant closes temporarily after flooding from neighbor Body found in car near Lincoln was missing Wisconsin woman, authorities say Woman found dead in back seat of car in Lincoln was stabbed to death How one Lincoln couple's foster care journey turned into a new kind of family Wisconsin man arrested after dead woman found in car that crashed west of Lincoln Police: 7-year-old suffers life-threatening injuries, 2 others hurt in north Lincoln crash Amie Just: Scott Frost stirred the pot, but it's time for Nebraska fans to stop listening Food Network praises this Lincoln restaurant in 50-best list Lobsters in Lincoln: Cousins Maine Lobster food truck still in Lincoln Details of former Big 10 football player's death shared by police Protesters create 'good trouble' in downtown Lincoln for anti-Trump demonstration Steve Miller Band cancels Lincoln date, entire tour, blaming the weather

Ackerman is a rare breed in the modern world of large-school athletics -- the uncommon athlete at the Class A level who played three sports throughout his four years of high school and excelled in each.

No, soccer was not one of those sports.

"I think that's one of the things that sticks out to me, is that no one really does it, and I wanted to be one of those people," Ackerman said. "When I have kids, I'll make them play as many sports as they want to do. If we specialize in one sport -- if I did football 24/7 -- that's just all you're doing. And all my sports complement each other."

Ackerman spoke by phone from Athens, Ohio, where he was going through summer workouts with the Ohio University football program. He signed with the Bobcats as a defensive end, meaning his days competing in multiple seasons are over.

"When you're in the moment, you're doing all this stuff, it just seems like you're on to the next; on to the next," Ackerman said. "But now, coming to Athens, it made me realize -- I'll never throw shot (put) again, I'll never play a real basketball game again.

"Looking back at it, yeah, it's just kind of surreal. I knew the plan I needed to take to get here. And then once I actually started making progress, it just meant a lot."

Ackerman's football credentials certainly warranted his shot at Division I pigskin.

As a tight end and defensive end for Central, Ackerman was a terror on both sides of the ball. In 10 games last fall, 51 of his 71 tacklers were solo stops. He added 12 tackles for loss, 11 sacks, and three forced fumbles.

On offense, the 6-foot-4, 255-pounder caught 18 passes for 305 yards and four touchdowns while earning first-team Super-State honors.

Basketball was Ackerman's third sport, and he still averaged 8.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game for one of the state's tradition-rich programs. And maybe gave his parents some nervous moments along the way with a big track season waiting on the horizon.

"We even had talks about, should you play basketball? If you roll an ankle, these records we're talking about might not happen," John said. "And he's like 'yes, I want to play.' So we said, play until they won't let you play anymore, as long as you're having fun.

"I really admire that, because it's tough to be a three-sport athlete. His summers were taken up by track and football, too. So he was 12 months out of the year. But he never got burned out. He was just so competitive."

There's that word again. Competitive.

The competitive streak reached its zenith in the spring, when Ackerman etched his name as the best shot putter the state has ever seen.

First came the breaking of the Class A shot put record, previously held by Omaha Central legend Larry Station, on April 18.

Station's throw of 64 feet, 9½ inches had stood since 1982 -- one of Nebraska track and field's most hallowed marks.

Ackerman broke it with a throw of 65-4. And then he kept going.

He broke his own mark a week later. Then again, less than two weeks after that. Then again on May 13 with a throw of 66-6 that left him just five inches off the all-class mark.

Then came state track. And on his first throw of the competition, Ackerman became the first Nebraska prep shot-putter to break 67 feet with a throw of 67-½. That toss took down the previous mark set in 1981 by Schuyler's Marty Kobza. He would also win the Class A gold medal in the discus.

"My dad tells me every day that he would have been happy if I would have just made state by my senior year, but I knew I was always meant for more," Ackerman said. "I always had the form, I just needed the physical maturity. And that's one of the hardest things to do, is just wait.

"I just worked my butt off for four years, knowing that the goal was the state record. And then when it happened, it made all those hard workouts and sitting around waiting for my body to mature worth it."

One of the most impressive parts of Ackerman's record march? He did it while still just 17 years old. He didn't turn 18 until early June.

All along, John Ackerman had a front-row seat, both in the arena and at home, as Central's tight ends/defensive ends coach in football and the Eagles' throws coach in track.

"People always say, it's really hard to coach your own kids. Well, I always kept in mind that it's really hard to be coached by your parents, too. So I tried to give him his space, and keep practice at practice and home life as home life," John said.

"For me, it was never about those accomplishments. It was about having that time together. He took all those accomplishments on his own shoulders and took care of all of that."

While Ackerman's track season was a historic one, the decision to leave the shot put ring behind to focus on football at the next level was an easy one.

"I'll be honest, my heart's in football," Ackerman said. "I love football. Track was something I always liked to do, and honestly, it was an excuse to be with my dad more."

"Especially now that I'm 12 hours away from him, looking back on it makes it feel a lot better and reminds me that it was time well spent."

Ohio University doesn't have a men's track team, but if it did, Ike said, he might have given college track a try.

One thing's for certain: he wouldn't have any trouble stoking the competitive fire.

"I would never say he was the greatest player on his teams. He played up a lot with higher grade levels," John said. "But he was just -- he was relentless. And so competitive. He was never a big name coming out of middle school or anything like that. The kid just worked really hard and was just so competitive."

Top Journal Star photos for July 2025

Reach the writer at (402) 473-7436 or cbasnett@journalstar.com. On Twitter @ChrisBasnettLJS.

.

0 Comments Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0

Get in the game with our Prep Sports Newsletter

Sent weekly directly to your inbox!

Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Chris Basnett

Assistant sports editor/high schools

Author twitter Author email Follow Chris Basnett Close Get email notifications on {{subject}} daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification.

{{description}}

Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

Save Manage followed notifications Close Followed notifications Please log in to use this feature Log In Don't have an account? Sign Up Today