ALLEGIANCE ACADEMY - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Nutritionist
- Nutrition Coach
Conner Blake is a nutritionist and experienced strength & conditioning coach from Edmond, OK. He obtained a Masters in Dietetics from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City, OK and a Bachelors in Sports/Business Management from the University of Oklahoma in Norman, OK. Conner's background as a former football and basketball player led him to his passion in sports performance where he aims to maximize athletes' potential through nutrition and strength & conditioning.
He has had his own training and nutrition consulting business since 2018 and also more than 6 years of experience as a strength & conditioning and performance coach. He has served as a performance/nutrition coach for athletes of all ages from youth to collegiate to professional. He is a certified USA Weightlifting coach, and active powerlifting enthusiast.
Job Titles:
- Doctor of Physical Therapy
Diana Chang is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and an experienced strength and conditioning coach from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Her dance background sparked a love of movement and fitness that led her to earn her master's degree in kinesiology with a concentration in sports conditioning.
She owned a training and performance gym in Oklahoma City for 11 years before she moved to Texas to practice as a physical therapist. She has over 15 years of experience training youth, recreational, collegiate, and professional athletes, and she holds advanced certifications in corrective exercise and performance enhancement. She is certified in sports manual therapy, blood flow restriction, and dry needling and is currently completing her Fellowship in Sports and Orthopedic Manual Therapy.
When she is not looking after the Allegiance Academy athletes, she splits her time working at Michael Johnson Performance and serving as owner/operator of Recover.Train.Perform. (RTP) Sports Medicine in McKinney, Texas
Job Titles:
- Athletic Director
- Coach
- Founder of AFC
- Lead Instructor for BCWMethod
Currently the Director of Coaching at Allegiance Football Club, which he started in 2016. Coach Pedro has been coaching youth soccer for the past 6 years.
As the DOC and founder of AFC, Pedro has developed a successful philosophy, methodology and culture that has expedited the growth of the players and teams.
A successful journey that can be noted through the dominant performances the players and teams consistently display, as well as their rapid growth. Something that has elevated multiple players from recreational level players, to now being invited to train with the top European academies. In addition, Pedro's teams are currently ranked amongst the very best in the nation.
Coach Pedro also serves as a lead instructor for BCWMethod. Based in Spain, the program develops training and playing methodology to expedite player's growth. Pedro has guided various youth and college coaches in implementing these methods.
In addition to BCWMethod, Pedro has hosted multiple Coaching Master Classes. Some of which included Luis Milla (Spain U23 National Team Coach), Andres Carrasco (Kuwait National Team Coach), Antonio Cortes (Catalunya National Team Coach) and multiple European professional coaches.
Jennifer brings 25 years of expertise in teaching and educational leadership to Allegiance Academy. Her recent leadership experiences include a district administrator role, responsible for curriculum development. She has also held roles as principal and assistant principal.
She has a double Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education and Spanish, and a Master of Science in Educational Leadership. She has a passion for enhancing school connections with the community, implementing challenging curriculums that improve students' knowledge and self-confidence, and developing teachers to be more student-focused.
Jennifer's goal for the Allegiance Academy is to set up a comprehensive curriculum that encourages self-development and educational exploration. Her plan is to create one of the top academic environments in the state.
She lives in Dallas with her husband, John and their three children. Her son will be attending Allegiance Academy.
Kim brings 26 years of teaching experience with emphasis in Gifted and Talented programs to Allegiance Academy. Several of her accomplishments as an educator include the creation of Humanities Programs in 5A Texas school districts such as Coppell and Southlake.
She has a double major in Education and Communication from the University of Texas in Arlington. She has received extensive training at Columbia University Teacher's College which include advanced courses focused on reading and writing. She has received IB training in Austin, Texas, on BYP and MYP writing curriculum.
She currently lives in Roanoke, TX with her husband, Kyle. She brought her passion for education home to her 4 children, all of whom are collegiate graduates and received academic and athletic scholarships. She continues to mold the minds of future generations of her family, which include her 6 grandchildren
Lucas Farris is a Registered Nurse with varied experience in Intensive Care, Medical-Surgical Telemetry, and Hospice. He attended the University of Texas at Arlington for his Bachelor of Science in Nursing and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Nursing Education from the University of Texas at Tyler.
Coach Mallory grew up in St. Louis, MO, where she was a 3 sport athlete through her career at Ursuline Academy. In her graduation year of 2011, Mallory led the varsity team to the state championship, while earning multiple awards including Missouri Goalkeeper of the Year and STL Post Dispatch Scholar Athlete of the Year, among others.
Mallory went on to attend Brown University in Rhode Island, where she graduated in 2015. At Brown, Mallory played for the Bears for 4 years, and in her final season led the Ivy League in total saves.
Mallory started training goalkeepers in October of 2019 in the Dallas area, which eventually blossomed into officially launching My Goalkeeping Academy, or My.GK, in March of 2021.
Servicing nearly 100 goalkeepers in the DFW area, My.GK emphasizes building confident goalkeepers and leaders through hard work, dedication and discipline. Some key skill focuses in My.GK training programs includes improving technique, athleticism, positioning, decision making and clean handling. Mallory believes that the best goalkeepers simplify the game and the position by doing the little things right, 100% of the time.
Additionally, having been a field player until high school, Mallory understands and thus emphasizes the importance of goalkeepers' foot skills and confidence on the ball. Each training session is designed to not only work on goalkeeper specific skills, but also to help improve soccer IQ and distribution. This presents an avenue for My.GK goalkeepers to not only become great goalkeepers, but also well-rounded soccer players ready to impact each game as an integral part of the defensive line.
Beyond goalkeeping specific skills, Mallory also specializes in aiding mindset development in young athletes. Having studied Cognitive Science at Brown University with an emphasis in Children's Cognitive Development, Mallory has a deep passion for mindset and personal development. She teaches various mental strengthening techniques and skills to young athletes to build lasting confidence through the use of positive affirmations and self talk, goal setting, self actualization, and visualization, among others. It is Mallory's mission to present mindset tools, tips and strategies to young athletes that will aid them in developing a strong and confident sense of self, enhancing mental performance on and off the field.
Mauricio Montenegro was born in Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. He moved to Dallas, Texas at the age of 5, studied in DISD until the age of 12 and transferred to AISD thereafter. He graduated from Sam Houston High School located in Arlington, Texas and attended Tarrant County College. He plans to continue to pursue his degree in Kinesiology.
He has always been a driven individual. At a glance, one would think he had many years of playing experience. However, he started playing at the age of 14. Coming from a family with a soccer background, it was only a matter of time before he realized he had talent. He spent every afternoon playing at local parks where he quickly developed enough skill to play on top teams such as American Eagles SC, coached by David Hoffman of the University of Dallas, and is a Dallas Texans alumni as well. He managed to play three years at the varsity level in high school, and by 18 he had 14 colleges ranging from NAIA D1 to NCAA D2 asking for his letter of intent, a year after graduating high school.
At 19, he signed for Dallas City FC of the NPSL and later joined Keene FC during the inauguration of the UPSL in Texas, as well as going on trials with other semi professional teams thereafter.
Mauricio is the owner and operator of M&M Detailing Services, which he founded in 2019. He has managed to build a strong reputation locally, and on social media where in the last year has amassed millions of views through his Tik Tok channel. He has garnered the attention of many auto detailing brands that are known both locally and worldwide.
I grew up in south Austin playing club soccer at the premier level, which included competitions like the Nike cup and a national ranking with Austin United FC. I also played in various levels of ODP, and PDL with the Austin Lightning, and later the Austin Aztex. After high-school I played in the 3rd division in France with other playing experiences in Romania, Jamaica, Sweden, and Malta. While playing, I also developed an interest in coaching and specifically training. I have been a coach in the Austin and Plugerville area for the past 14 years holding an E license with a pending D.
After graduating from UT Austin, Van moved to Dallas to work in a newly-formed family business. He has owned and operated successful car dealerships, and a highly-acclaimed restaurant in the Dallas area.
Van brings extensive knowledge of creating a concept based on a desired end product, and massaging the process in order to make it successful. His accomplishments are, in no small part, due to recognizing untapped talent in people, and then allowing them the freedom and resources to succeed.
He now turns his energies toward developing Allegiance Academy. His idea for the academy is to maximize a young student/athlete's time efficiency and effectiveness, in a supportive environment. This is achieved by combining high quality private school education with comprehensive soccer training, under one roof.