Arlington High School Principal Shannon Abraham announced Friday afternoon the hiring of Fayette-Ware High School’s Sherri Smith as head coach for the AHS Girls Basketball team. Coach Smith most recently led the Fayette-Ware Lady Wildcats to two consecutive district and regional championship wins in 2022 and 2023. She’ll now coach the Tigers, who have won four of the last five regional championships played by the team.
“I am thrilled to welcome Coach Sherri Smith, someone who has an exceptional track record in building successful basketball programs within our immediate community,” Abraham said. “Coach Smith’s commitment to forming meaningful connections with student athletes has been consistently demonstrated throughout her career, and she prioritizes their success not only on the court but also in their personal lives. I am excited to provide her the opportunity to work with the remarkable talent we have here at Arlington High and contribute to both the coaching staff and Wellness Education team.”
An experienced coach with 16 years of helping develop young athletes, Smith has coached for the Wildcats since 2017, a time in which she led the team to its first state appearance in 43 years and has since played in three consecutive substate games. She was recently named the 2023 3A All-Star Coach for the Basketball Coaches Association of Tennessee and the 2021-2022 Daily Memphian Coach of the Year for her team’s district and regional championship wins. She has also coached for the AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) Lady Magics, West Jr. High School in Oakland, Southwind High School and other teams in the Memphis area.
“Arlington is known to be a tight-knit community, and coming from a big family myself, I like the fact that they’re very family oriented,” Smith said. “That’s my goal coming into this team, making sure the girls are a family and develop a sisterhood. If you stick together and go to bat for each other, no one can break that bond, and that’s crucial on the court. You have to build that chemistry, otherwise you won’t be very successful. This worked for my team at Fayette-Ware, and we saw so much improvement in our record and success.”
Smith said bridging the middle and high school communities together will also be a priority she undertakes as head coach. “At Fayette-Ware, I let the middle school girls practice and play with us at the high school during the summer,” she said. “I was able to talk to the girls, get to know their parents and work with the middle school coaches to identify weaknesses and build on strengths. That’s important in building a community.”
Welcome to Arlington, Coach Sherri Smith!
