Throughout March, WTOP is celebrating Women’s History Month. Join us on-air and online as we honor the achievements of women in the D.C. region.
Women have been breaking into coaching roles in men’s professional sports in recent years. But when it comes to high school athletics, most coaching positions continue to be held by men.
Thomas Jefferson High School in Fairfax County, Virginia, is bucking the trend, hiring two women to lead its varsity football and baseball programs. It became the first high school in the commonwealth to hire two women for those two sports simultaneously.
Rachel Worsham will coach the Colonials football team in the fall, while this spring, Jennifer Hammond has started her first season managing varsity baseball.
Both coaches enter their roles with extensive resumes in their respective sports. They tell WTOP their hires mean more than wins and losses.
“The hope for both of us is that even though we’re the first, we won’t be the last,” Hammond said. “This is an opportunity to show girls and women that there are opportunities in sports that maybe traditionally had been closed off to them.”
Football coaching dream
Worsham, 43, has been waiting for an opportunity to be a head coach after her playing career ended after 12 seasons with the D.C. Divas women’s football team and USA Football. She served as an assistant coach at multiple Fairfax County high schools and was the head coach of the girl’s flag football team at Robinson Secondary School last year.
However, the former offensive lineman has loved tackle football since she was a kid. Once she moved to the D.C. area, she was recruited to the Divas. Following her playing career, she wanted to stay active in the sport.
“I’m passionate about coaching, passionate about being a head coach and it was really the next step for me and what I wanted to do,” Worsham told WTOP.
She applied for the role at TJ immediately after it opened. After her hiring, junior cornerback Luke Brazie met Worsham. He noticed a binder of offseason plans for the Colonials. Her preparation for the upcoming season won Brazie over, proving she was more than qualified for the role.
“Even beyond gender, she has had to go through so many more trials and tribulations to be where she is today, and it speaks to how good of a coach she is,” Brazie said.
“You don’t really hear about women in football and women in sports in general,” junior Andrew Haydon said. “So, to have a female football coach, it’s rare, and it’s a pretty cool thing to experience.”
Worsham cannot wait to get started with coaching her players. Until then, she checks in with her players, most of whom also play on the baseball team.
‘A bird’s-eye view’
For Jennifer Hammond, it has been a long time coming. She’s been on the Colonials’ coaching staff since 2019.
Hammond grew up playing baseball through high school. For 20 years, she’s played in the Eastern Women’s Baseball Conference, where she still participates as a player/coach. She’s also been on the coaching staff of the Alexandria Aces in the Cal Ripken Collegiate Summer League since 2021.
Now in her new role, Hammond said she will have “a bird’s-eye view” of managing the game and delegating smaller tasks to her coaching staff.
During her first game in charge, Thomas Jefferson’s season opener at Mount Vernon on March 18, the 45-year-old was excited, but immediately began focusing on the game.
“I wanted to take a few moments and be present,” she said. “Kind of take it all in, but we got down to business pretty quickly.”
Haydon, who plays third base, called Hammond “the heart and soul of our team,” and her promotion well-deserved. He credits Hammond and her calm approach for helping him recover from his torn labrum and keeping the team focused on baseball after a long day of classes.
“She definitely understands the way the team works,” he said. “Sometimes, getting on the players isn’t the best way to play the game. And so, just keeping us calm, getting us ready for the next play, the next opportunity to perform.”
A coaching ‘sisterhood’
Hammond was part of the committee that hired the new head football coach but did not learn of Worsham’s hiring until the official announcement was made.
The pair immediately began texting each other, with Hammond sending updates on players that both teams share. While they both have their own mentors, Hammond said the pair established a “sisterhood” of coaches at TJ.
“I think the women who are at the forefront of this didn’t ask for that added pressure, didn’t ask for that added responsibility, but are taking it on and are supporting each other along the way,” she said.
Both coaches said they understand the undertaking of leading a school that prioritizes academics over athletics. While they plan to help their athletes balance their workload on and off the field, the duo also knows they are symbols for the future of women in sports.
They both said they welcome the challenge at a school that welcomes diversity in its sports.
“Just really interested in being involved in a program that is excited about celebrating women too,” Worsham said. “Knowing that TJ is a little bit different, they are interested in breaking that barrier and having me involved in the program.”
Get breaking news and daily headlines delivered to your email inbox by signing up here.
© 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.
