Head Varsity Coach
stephanie.poole@allenisd.org

Coach Stephanie Poole is a Dallas native and alum of Highland Park High School. She was a multi-sport athlete competing in basketball, softball, and volleyball. A three-time All-District and All-Area setter, she captained all three sports her senior year.

Poole earned an athletic scholarship and competed at Wingate University in North Carolina as a multi-sport athlete (volleyball and softball). She was a three-time All-Conference player in addition to being the 2001 SAC Conference Player of the Year. Poole also earned placement on the Daktronics NCAA Div.II All-South Region 1st Team as well as recognition from Verizon Academic All-District III.

Returning home in the fall of 2002, Coach Poole completed her degree at SMU before beginning her high school coaching career at Bishop Lynch. While there, BL won its first State Volleyball Championship. Next, she earned her teaching certification and went to work teaching (World History, English II, Pre-AP World Geography, AP Human Geography) and coaching (Varsity Assistant) at Waxahachie High School (2008-2011) and Highland Park High School (2011-2018). In 2018, Coach Poole got a call from the head coach at Waxahachie High School, a longtime mentor and friend, Sandy Faussett, who urged her to return to Waxahachie and once again fulfill the role of varsity assistant.

Coach Poole has been coaching club volleyball for many years, including stints at Victory Volleyball Club as well as Madfrog. She has qualified many teams at multiple levels and has medaled at Nationals in USA in addition to owning an American division National Championship. Most recently, she joined Excel Volleyball Club and is ready to begin her fourth year with Excel as the head coach for the top 16s team.

In June of 2021, Stephanie Poole was named head volleyball coach at Allen High School. 

Coach Poole coaches with passion, intensity, and with a standard of doing things correctly and with pride. A strong work ethic, self-discipline, accountability, focus, and a team-first mentality are the cornerstones of success for her teams. In addition to building that team culture and environment, Coach Poole prides herself on being a coach who can relate to and earn the trust of her players. “I try to get to know each player individually – their personalities, what motivates them, what drives them; You do that, and you can create an environment where confidence in the process and in the team is established. When everyone is working towards the same goal with the same energy and commitment, success will follow. I hold my teams and my players to a high standard because they’ve chosen to participate in something that requires more – more time, more passion, more energy, more drive, more vulnerability, more growth. It’s not easy to get players out of their comfort zone. It’s not easy to convince them that it’s through the struggle and the grind that we see growth. But that’s what I absolutely love about coaching. I love the journey. I love the experiences. I love seeing a team turn a corner and take off. I love seeing young people take pride in representing their community on the court and through sportsmanship and competitiveness.”

Assistant Varsity Coach
ebony.carter@allenisd.org

This is Coach Ebony Carter’s first year coaching at Allen. She graduated from the University of Tulsa in 2018 where she played middle blocker for four years. Coach Carter majored in Media Studies and minored in Coaching while at TU. Carter went on to be the Graduate Assistant coach at Texas A&M University - Commerce for two seasons where the Lions were selected by the South Central Region to participate in the 2019 NCAA Division II Women’s Volleyball Championship. Coach Carter went on to spend the 2022-2023 school year at Mesquite High School as a first-year head coach and teacher. Carter has also coached club volleyball for seven years and spent the last 5 seasons coaching at Madfrog in Plano. Coach Carter enjoys playing in adult leagues in her free time and loves traveling with family, friends, and her teams.

JV Coach
sydnie.walker@allenisd.org

This year will be Coach Sydnie Walker’s fourth year teaching and coaching and first year at Allen High School! She started her collegiate volleyball career with a D1 full scholarship to PrairieView A&M, where she was captain her first year and earned accolades such as “SWAC Offensive Player of the Week”,  “SWAC Newcomer of the Week”, “MVP of the Tournament” and “Most Dedicated Player”.  She also led her team in kills and digs for a number of competition weeks. She was also on the Dean's list throughout the entirety of her collegiate career. Coach Walker continued her collegiate career as President of the UNT Women’s club volleyball team, in Denton, TX while pursuing a degree in Integrative Studies (Business Management, Communication Studies and International Studies). She graduated with Cum Laude honors from UNT in 2019. She has also been coaching club volleyball for about 7 years now. While she is not coaching and teaching, she loves to spend time with her family, friends and dogs!

Freshman A Team
emily.janek@allenisd.org

This year will be Coach Emily Janek’s first year coaching and teaching in Allen. She is an Allen High School alumni and served as captain for the varsity volleyball team. Emily earned a full ride scholarship to play D1 volleyball at the University of Alabama and started all four years. Coach Janek made the all academic team all four years while pursuing a Kinesiology degree. Upon graduating, she moved back to Allen to begin teaching and coaching in her hometown. When Emily is not coaching young athletes, she enjoys spending time with her friends and family, playing volleyball, reading, going on walks, traveling and eating at Torchy’s. 

Freshman B Team
Taylor.looney@allenisd.org

This is Coach Looney

Curtis Middle School 8th Grade Coach
ariane.labrzycki@allenisd.org

This year will be Coach Ariane (Arie) Labrzycki’s second year coaching at Allen and her fourth year teaching. She started her collegiate volleyball career at College of the Canyons in Valencia, CA where she was 2nd team all-conference her freshman year, 1st team all-conference her sophomore year as well as captain. She was also all academic team both years. Coach Labrzycki continued her collegiate career playing D1 volleyball at the University of New Orleans, in Louisiana while pursuing degrees in Biology and Psychology. During her junior year, she was nominated as a newcomer of the year. After college, she began coaching club volleyball in Louisiana before moving on to refereeing for the Bayou region and later for SCVA in California. While in California Coach Labrzycki obtained a M.S. in sports psychology and counseling.  She moved to Texas in 2018 and started coaching club in 2019. When not coaching or teaching, Coach Labrzycki loves to play sand volleyball and spend time in the water (oceans, lakes, pools, anything big enough to swim in).

Curtis Middle School 7th Grade Coach
ashle.crowley@allenisd.org

Coach Crowley is in her first year teaching and coaching at Allen ISD.  She earned a degree in Business from Tarleton State University.  She has coached club soccer for the past several years in her hometown of Fairfield, Texas.  For the past few years, she has also coached and managed the Archery Club in the county 4-H program.  When not coaching or teaching, Coach Crowley likes to spend time outdoors camping with her two kiddos and she loves to travel.

Ereckson MS 8th Grade Coach
jessica.laflower@allenisd.org

This is Coach Jessi LaFlower’s second year coaching volleyball for Allen High School. She also coaches JV softball and teaches Health, PE, and AM at Allen High School. Prior to this role, she coached JV volleyball at Plano West Senior High School for 4 years and at Denison High School for 1 year. This is her 6th year teaching/coaching and 1st year with Allen ISD. Jessi is married to Keith LaFlower, has a 2 year old son named Paxton and a 4 month old daughter named Kambree. They are the light of her life! Jessi played 8 different sports in high school and played collegiate softball at Hill College and A&M Commerce. When she is not teaching or coaching, Jessi enjoys spending time with family, friends and her farm animals, hunting, fishing, riding four wheelers, and playing sports. Jessi is excited to be teaching/coaching your kids this year!

Ereckson MS 7th Grade Coach
chloe.crotty@allenisd.org

This is Coach Crotty’s first year of teaching and coaching at Allen.  She teaches Texas History and coaches the 7th grade volleyball & track teams for Ereckson.   She grew up here in the DFW area where she was involved in several sports including volleyball and basketball.  Coach Crotty is a recent graduate from the University of Arkansas where she obtained a Bachelors of Art in Teaching with a focus in Social Studies Education. She is passionate about creating a positive atmosphere for our athletes where they can strive both on and off the court.

Ford Middle School 8th Grade Coach
shawn.shannon@allenisd.org

Coach Shannon is starting his eighth year coaching in Allen ISD.  He graduated from the University of North Texas with a B.S. in Kinesiology and a minor in Health in 2013.  His knowledge and passion for sports expand every time he steps on the court.  Coach Shannon also coaches club volleyball and competes in USAV indoor and beach tournaments.  He will be back at Ford MS as the Girls' Coordinator coaching volleyball, track, and PE. He looks forward to building relationships and sharing his love for sports with the athletes and students at Ford MS.  On the weekends, and most of his Summer, you will most likely see Coach Shannon spending time with his wife and family at his lake house or deer lease.  He also likes spending time in nature backcountry hiking National Parks across America.

Ford Middle School 7th Grade Coach
andrea.larrazolo@allenisd.org

This year will be Coach Andrea Larrazolo's first year coaching at Allen and her first-year teaching. She is an Allen High School Alumni where she spent 4 years in the sports medicine program. She graduated from Oklahoma State University in 2020 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physiology with a minor in Microbiology. When not coaching or teaching, Coach Larrazolo enjoys spending time with her family and friends and attending country concerts.