About

Our introduction on Ashley Waters comes from her mom, Jacquie, a former coach at AHS.  “All parents think their kids are special, but it became evident to me something was different with Ash when she was 4 years old…I put her on a soccer team with kids 2 years older and she was the best player on the team. The rest is history…. 

 “We follow this with a comment from AHS Athletic Hall of Fame 2015 inductee Coach Gail Kelleher.  “As a young child, Ashley Waters tagged along with her siblings when she came to softball practice with her Mom, Jacquie.  She stood out even at that young age.  As soon as she could, she took swings at the machine and took turns running and catching.  Imagine what she absorbed over the years as she went from being a 4 year old team mascot to a record setting player in 3 sports. Imagine the impact that Ashley had and continues to have even now.  She was and still is the best of the best and my heart is so happy for all that she has accomplished”.  

Now let’s hear her high school story – When Ashley Waters arrived at Amesbury High School as a freshman in 2001 sleepless nights began for opposing Cape Ann League coaches.  In field hockey, playing for Coach Kelleher, she was named to the All-League team 3 times and was the CAL Player of the Year in 2004.  As a junior, she set an AHS school record with 7 points in a single game and eventually finished her high school career with a total of 139 points with 60 goals and 79 assists.  At graduation her 79 assists ranked sixth all-time in the nation.  

Boston newspapers also recognized her skills as she was chosen for All-Scholastic teams by the Boston Herald 2 times and by the Boston Globe once.  She served as team captain her senior year.  When winter approached, off came the shin guards and away went the field hockey stick for sneakers and a basketball.  Playing for fellow AHS Athletic Hall of Fame 2024 inductee Coach Chris Perry, Ashley was named to the CAL All-League team 3 times while scoring a career total of 1,118 points.  She was the first female to surpass the 1,000 point mark in AHS history and captained the team her senior year. 

The spring season brought with it clover in bloom in the outfield, bats and gloves, and more headaches for CAL teams with the Coach Perry led Amesbury softball team on their schedule. Ashley was recognized as the CAL Player of the Year her sophomore, junior, and senior seasons.   Her career records were staggering:  In pitching her win/loss record was 82 – 10, with an earned run average of 0.54, (yes, that’s less than 1 run per game folks), 744 strikeouts, 6 perfect games, and 15 no-hitters.  At the plate, she had a career batting average of .479 which includes her senior season where she hit for a remarkable .624 average!  Her career total of 23 home runs included a senior season when she was #1 in the state with 11 round-trippers.  Once again, the Boston newspapers were impressed and she was chosen for the All-Scholastic team by the Boston Herald 3 times and by the Boston Globe twice.  She also served as team captain her junior and senior years completing the trifecta as a 3-sport captain.  The Amesbury School Committee noted her excellent career at AHS and voted to retire her uniform #3 in softball.

As the 2005 school year came to a close, Ashley received more overall awards.  These included the Moynihan Lumber North Shore Female Student-Athlete of the Year, the Eagle-Tribune Female Athlete of the Year as a repeat recipient as she also won this in 2004, and the Boston Globe Massachusetts Female Athlete of the Year.  During her high school career, she earned 12 varsity letters and her AHS Class of 2005 classmates voted her their Best Female Athlete. Most cherished by Ashley are her teammates and the accomplishments attained by the teams she played on at AHS.  The list is long and impressive – Field Hockey – CAL titles in 2002, 2003, and 2004.  Basketball – CAL titles in 2004 and 2005 – State Tournament Division 3 North Sectional title in 2005.  Softball – CAL titles in 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005 – State tournament Division 2 North Sectional title in 2005. 

After graduation, Ashley’s attention focused on softball at the college level and the list of accomplishments continued.  At the University of Maine, she was a 2-year team captain, was named to the America East first team 2 times, and in her senior year was named to the Northeast All-region first team, the America East Player of the Year, the America East Scholar-Athlete of the Year and was chosen as UMaine’s top female athlete based on academic and athletic achievement as well as citizenship and community service.  In 2017, she was inducted into the UMaine Athletic Hall of Fame. 

 By 2015, she made her way to Boston University as the Terriers head women’s softball coach.  In her 9 years at the helm her teams have won 80% of their games and been Patriot League regular season champions or tournament champions 6 times, including the recent 2024 season.  Ashley has been selected as the Patriot League Coach of the Year 5 times and Eastern College Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2018.  

Locally, Ashley was recently inducted into the Amesbury Educational Foundation Hall of Honor as a former AHS student who has distinguished themselves in their field.  Her brother, Corey, shared the following, “Ashley’s competitive drive was as extraordinary as her talent.  Through this competitive drive, she developed purpose, intellect, and a capacity to lead.   In summary, we offer thoughts from Tara DeMontier, AHS Class of 2004, and one of Ashley’s former teammates – “Tenacious, competitive, motivated.  If these 3 words had a face put to them, that face would be Ashley Waters.  Born to compete, with a freakish athletic drive coursing through her veins, she is the epitome of a great female athlete.  As her teammate and friend, I reaped the benefits of playing alongside her.  She exuded confidence and constantly pushed everyone around her to be their best.  She didn’t just want to play a good game, she wanted to win.  Ashley was one of my greatest coaches before she even became a coach.  It was truly special to compete alongside someone of her caliber, but also have her as my best friend.  The competitive edge has never left Ashley, which has molded her into the successful Division 1 college coach she is today.  Amesbury has an icon, a role model, right at their feet.  And her name is Ashley Waters.”