​Allie is inducted into 2024 GKCFCA Hall of Fame

by Michael Smith


Grain Valley head football coach David Allie has always been a team-first guy.

Even when he was recognized for the outstanding job he’s done coaching Grain Valley, he would give credit to his assistant coaches, players, and his family.

That’s exactly what he did when he reflected on his lengthy coaching career following his induction to the Greater Kansas City Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame, which was announced at halftime of Friday’s BEYOUnion.com Kansas vs. Missouri All-Star Game at DeSoto (Kan.) High School.

Allie was one of 11 people inducted in the 2024 class as part of a selection process conducted by for inductees and association presidents.

When speaking on his feelings about joining the GKCFCA Hall of Fame, one word came to mind -- “humbled.”

“It’s an honor,” Allie said. “It’s a great award but this is also a team award – this is for all the coaches I have worked with and all the teams we’ve had. This is an award that everyone should share in.”

“To be associated with everyone else who has been inducted into the Hall of Fame, it’s very humbling. I can’t explain the joy, happiness, and gratefulness that goes into receiving that honor. As a class, they have an amazing number of championships won and lives coached.”

Allie began his coaching career at Kirksville as a high school boys track and field and middle school basketball coach for the Kirksville School District in 1991. He also made stops as an assistant coach at Holden and Warrensburg before he got hired as an assistant at Raytown South in 1997.

After then head coach Kelly Donohoe, a four-time state champion high school football coach, left to take the head coaching opening at Blue Springs, Allie was promoted to the head coaching position at South in 2000.

As a Cardinal, Allie had 11 winning seasons in 14 years and helped lead his team to the state championship game in 2008 and to the state semifinals in 2009.

Allie then took over a Grain Valley team that hadn’t had a winning season in four years when he was named the head coach in 2014. After losing seasons during his first two seasons at the helm, Allie has experienced nothing but success.

He has a sparkling 76-40 record as head coach and has helped lead the Eagles to five Suburban White Conference championships, district championships and state quarterfinal appearances. For his entire 28-year career as head coach, Allie has compiled a 159-114 career record and has been the Kansas City Chiefs Missouri Coach of the Year twice – once with South and once with Grain Valley.

He’s also spent more than 15 years as a member of the GKCFCA board of directors and was the president in 2021 and 2022.

Multiple moments came to mind for Allie when thinking of some of the best during his time as an Eagle.

“I got memories from everybody,” Allie said. “There was (Ethan) Macoubrie’s big catch to beat Harrisonville here in the last second of a game. Seth Schibler had a pick six against Oak Grove to help us get our first win against them in a while. I could sit here and fill the whole column with memories.”

Allie has built a special bond with his players and his assistant coaches. He is known as a player’s coach, someone who relates well to those on the team. There was a special moment that highlights that fact after Grain Valley defeated Raytown 43-0 in the Class 5 District 7 Championship game.

The Eagles players dumped a water cooler full of ice on top of Allie following the win, and after a locker room meeting, the players carried Allie outside in a manner that resembled crowd surfing at a concert.

“That was an all-time moment,” Grain Valley graduate Ty Williams said. “He deserves it. He puts in so many hours. We couldn’t have asked for a better coach.”

Not is the veteran coach supportive of his players, he’s a brilliant offensive mind, who has drawn up plays that have caught multiple opposing teams off guard.

William Chrisman head football coach Michael Rose-Ivey has said he wants to model his program to be like Allie’s at Grain Valley. Oak Park head coach Kenneth Clemens said Allie was great at drawing up plays to create mismatches and getting his defense misaligned, which led to big plays.

“A lot of things he has drawn up required some out-of-the-box thinking,” Williams said of Allie. “No one on our team can even think of it.”

When looking back at his coaching career, Allie thought of many people to thank for having an impact on his coaching career, such as his best friend and former assistant coach Pete Carpino, who was an assistant at Grain Valley with Allie for eight years and Allie’s best man at his wedding.

The veteran coach also thought of John Culp, who was mentor to Allie during their time at Warrensburg High School.

“He was a huge influence,” Allie said of Culp. “Just the way he treats people and the respect he commands because he’s such a great guy.”

And that’s the way Allie’s players see him, as well. Recent Grain Valley graduate, Stylz Blackmon, had nothing but high praise and admiration for his coach.

“You really can’t speak enough about that man,” Blackmon said. “Not only was he an amazing coach, he was very personable. He made coming to practice amazing. He was going to get onto your butt about things when he needed to, but he was going to love you 10 times harder.

“He believed in us. There wasn’t a moment where he doubted us. You wouldn’t see a change in demeanor with him. You would see the same buoyancy and energy and the same drive and focus.”

That’s just one of many reasons Allie is in the GKCFCA Hall of Fame. The veteran coach has built a foundation of success everywhere he’s gone for the past 33 years as coach.

And there’s one person he wanted to thank the most for his coaching career, his wife Cathy, who has been his biggest supporter throughout all of it.

“It’s not easy being the wife of a football coach because of the way it can disrupt the family vibe,” Allie said. “Even in the offseason, there’s so much professional development that goes on.
There should be a Hall of Fame for Wives and Cathy would be No. 1 on that list.”

Grain Valley head football coach David Allie, middle, celebrates his induction into the Greater Kansas City Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame alongside his wife Cathy, left, and his daughter Harper during halftime of the BEYOUnion.com Kansas vs. Missouri All-Star game Friday at DeSoto (Kan.) High School. Photo credit: Michael Smith