A tiny but intense unpaid assistant has been at Rachel Worsham's side since she took on her new job earlier in the year. In gearing up for the 2026 high school football season, the coach has appreciated the help and joyful distraction of this particular voice.
"My toddler Hazel has been a great help. She's an official coach. She tells all the boys, 'I'm Coach Hazel', and she has a whistle," Worsham said with a laugh. "If you've seen 'Remember the Titans', she is literally Hayden Panettiere."
Like the plot of "Remember the Titans," the matter Hazel and Rachel Worsham are consumed by is Virginia high school football. In January, Worsham was named the head coach of the football team at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology, making her the first woman ever to coach a boys' varsity football team in the state. After months of preparation and instilling a new culture, Worsham and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology will open their season tonight at home against Park View High School.
Worsham's love of football started at an early age. Her dad played at a Division III school in Michigan, and an interest in the sport flowed to her. As a young girl watching the game on TV to being a student at a Big Ten school, football was a consistent, enthralling presence. Yet, as a woman, she was only able to engage with it in a limited way.
"I have loved football all my life," Worsham said. "I really followed it as more of a fan all through school because it was never a possibility growing up to play. I just loved it and supported my high school team, went to Michigan State, had season tickets and was all in on all of that."
After graduating, Worsham moved to the Washington, D.C., area for a job. She connected with members of the local Michigan State alumni network who were playing flag football. While Worsham was playing flag one day, she had an encounter that would open an entire new world and change her life's trajectory.
"While I was out there, one of my flag teammates from Michigan State was also playing for the D.C. Divas, and she brought the Divas out to recruit. My teammate said, 'You have to come try out.' I did that and then never looked back … It was a lot of fun."
Part of that fun came with winning, which Worsham did a lot of as a Diva. During her 12 seasons as an offensive lineman, she contributed to back-to-back national championships in 2015 and 2016. Her talent was also noticed by the USA Women's National Team, and she helped the red, white and blue win gold at the 2017 IFAF Women's World Championship. In 2024, Worsham was inducted into the D.C. Divas Hall of Fame.
As she gained a new layer of love and understanding of tackle football with the Divas, Worsham stepped into coaching. Her first stint came with George C. Marshall High School in Fairfax County, Virginia.
"I saw the posting for an offensive line coach, which is what I originally wanted to do, and just put my name out there," Worsham said. "They knew about the Divas because I think the team had played some games at Marshall at that point. They know a bit about my experience and background, so it started there."
Over the course of a decade, through roles at Marshall, a New York Jets internship, Robinson Secondary School and more, Worsham continued to level up as a coach. Her command of the X's and O's of the game got stronger and so too did her coaching voice. She realized that one of her coaching superpowers was her ability to connect with players, who often referred to her as "Mama Rach" or "Mama Worsham." Garnering more and more experiences, the assistant coach started to recognize she was ready for the jump to head coach.
"My passion for the game, I knew that a head coach job was more what I was interested in," Worsham said. "I felt that I could bring more to the sport than what I could as an offensive line coach."
She started setting an alarm for Wednesday mornings. That was when new high school coaching positions in Fairfax County were posted on the official job board. When the head coach position was posted for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, there was immediate excitement. Worsham felt that the rigorous academic school looking to revamp its football reputation could be a great fit.
Her interview process featured current TJHSST football players who were eager to understand what Worsham's football vision was all about. They asked about the type of offense and defense she planned to run, looked at her sample playbook and more.
"They were definitely searching for a coach who was going to teach them and their teammates the game but respect how good of athletes they were," Worsham said.
Various members of the school's athletic department were also tapped as interviewers. One of those was Jennifer Hammond. Last September, Hammond was hired as TJHSST's head baseball coach, becoming the first woman in Virginia to lead a boys' varsity program. The fact that Worsham would make history alongside Hammond if hired was "in the back of her mind."
The search for the new head coach emphatically revealed that Worsham was the ideal candidate to lead TJHSST's football program. It was made official in January, with school principal and former varsity football Michael Mukai lauding Worsham's "invaluable connections to the sport" and "genuine passion for teaching the game" in an announcement shortly after.
Over the last several months, Worsham has been single-minded in her goal to steer TJHSST on a new path. That effort has involved really trying to understand her student-athletes, implementing new strength and conditioning routines and, overall, instilling a new culture grounded in discipline and intentionality.
She's assembled an "awesome staff" of six to help. The first look at their work will be on display on Thursday night football. Lots of planning has helped quell some of the nerves, but overall Worsham couldn't be more thrilled to kick off the season tomorrow. When she takes the field, she'll be doing many, both toddler-sized and not, proud. Being a trailblazer won't be on her mind; all Worsham wants to do is coach the game well, help her players and show that this team is headed on a new path.
"I'm very excited for the game to be a place where we can start to show that they are doing great things," Worsham said. "I'm looking forward to having people come watch the football games, because I know that TJHSST doesn't have a big following … The more we can get support for the team, and the program will be great."
