It’s a big deal any time a head coach of a high-school sports team is chosen as Coach of the Year.
But two different head coaches from the same school receiving that recognition during the same campaign by separate organizations? That’s a very rare occurrence — but happened during the 2026 spring outdoor season at Arlington’s Wakefield High School.
Taylor White (girls softball) and Tylar Abrams (girls lacrosse) each earned honors, selected by their coaching peers, as both the Liberty District and 6D North Region Coach of the Year in their respective sports.
“It’s over the moon to receive these honors. I couldn’t believe it,” said Abrams, a full-time English teacher at Wakefield and a game manager for sports during other seasons at the school. “This made it feel like all of our hard work paid off.”
Wakefield athletic administrators don’t know if such a same-season recognition ever previously occurred in school history. White and Abrams previously received district Coach of the Year honors, but not the region recognition and never both in the same season.
Abrams, who has been Wakefield’s girls lacrosse head coach for five years, received each award despite her team winning less than a handful of games. Abrams was told by her peers she was honored because of her “positive” energy and flipping the team’s culture in the right direction.
“We go back to basics at Wakefield and we build lacrosse players here,” Abrams said.
White has been Wakefield’s head softball coach for just two seasons, and she played softball at the school years ago. She was chosen as the district’s Coach of the Year in 2025.
This past spring, White led Wakefield to a 13-8 overall record, six more wins than the seven from the 2025 campaign.
A number of those losses were by close scores, including two by 1-0 finals against the highly-accomplished Langley Saxons, as well as two tight setbacks (one in extra innings) to the perennial power McLean Highlanders.
Among Wakefield’s softball victories were over the Liberty District tournament-champion Yorktown Patriots and non-league wins over the Lake Braddock Bruins, a Class 6 state-tournament qualifier, and the Patriot District and 6C Region tournament champion West Springfield Spartans, also a Class 6 state qualifier.
Wakefield opened the season by winning its first seven games, including those victories over Yorktown and Lake Braddock.
After the season’s strong start, White credited the players, telling ARLnow.com: “They are very excited to be winning, and they are glad to brag about that some and give Wakefield a good name in softball.”
Tony Bentley has been Wakefield’s head boys basketball coach for many seasons. He mentors both Abrams and White in their coaching positions.
“They both have asked me a lot of questions about coaching and the ‘Wakefield way,'” Bentley said. “Taylor has an effective quietness and has done a great job in both of her seasons. Tylar does so much more than just on the field. She wasn’t honored by her peers as a pity thing. It’s impressive their peers recognized both for what they have done at Wakefield.”
