Rachel Worsham makes debut as Virginia’s first female varsity head football coach
· Yahoo Sports
Virginia high school football history was made on Thursday evening. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (Va.) head coach Rachel Worsham made her debut, becoming the first-ever female to serve as head coach of a varsity boys football team in the state.
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TJHSST suffered a 36-0 lost to Park View, but the night remains a landmark moment for the program and Worsham, a trailblazer who’s previously been an assistant coach for more than a decade at multiple stops.
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Worsham’s hiring was announced at the beginning of February. She played in the Women’s Football Alliance (WFA) and was on the USA women’s team along with the DC Divas. TJHSST’s athletics also feature Jennifer Hammond, who serves as the head coach of their baseball program.
“To me, being the first in the state comes with a lot of responsibility, of course,” Worsham said in the school’s press release. “But it’s not that I’m the first that I really care about, what is more important to me is that I’m not the last … I anticipate a lot of scrutiny because I’m a woman in a traditionally male-dominated field. There is certainly a pressure that I carry to do a good job, to get it right.”
“Having a pioneer, like Rachel Worsham, leading our program brings invaluable connections to the sport and a genuine passion for teaching the game,” TJHSST Principal Michael Mukai said.
Worsham is flanked by a revamped staff that’s hoping to rebuild and acquire a new wave of support behind the program. Jefferson will return to action at home next Thursday, Sept. 10, vs. Stonewall Jackson.
“I’m looking forward to having people come watch the football games, because I know that TJHSST doesn’t have a big following,” Worsham said this week in a feature by Hannah Lichtenstein of the Washington Commanders. “The more we can get support for the team, and the program will be great.”
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