Swim Team Staff
Matt Franks - Head Coach 
Coach Franks comes to Frisco ISD with 20 years of high school and club coaching experience. He is an ASCA level 4 rated coach that has produced Olympic Trials qualifiers, Junior National finalists, high school State Champions as well as numerous TAGs & Sectionals finalists and champions. Coach Franks swam competitively as an age-group and high school swimmer in Northern New Jersey (New Jersey Wave and Ridgewood YMCA) and was a four year letterman at the Virigina Military Institute where he was a conference finalist in multiple events and an academic all-conference athlete as well as attaining leadership ranks in the Corps of Cadets throughout his cadetship. 
Upon graduation from VMI (B.A. Psychology with a minor in Leadership Studies) he moved to Dallas to begin his coaching career. Starting as the Head Age Group coach for the ATAC swim team he led over a dozen athletes to TAGs finals. Coach Franks moved out to East Texas in 2002 where he would spend 13 years as the Head Coach of Robert E Lee High School and the Assistant Head Coach of Metroplex Aquatics - Tyler.
While in Tyler his high school and club swimmers saw immense success, winning 22 district titles and 3 regional titles, producing 5 NISCA All-Americans, 12 TISCA All-State Swimmers, 8 6A State Qualifiers and 2 State medalists on the high school side of the sport. On the club side Coach Franks produced 2 Olympic Trials qualifiers, 5 Summer Junior National qualifiers and over 40 TAGs and Sectional qualifiers.
Coach Franks moved back to Dallas in 2015 to take the Head Coach position at Lovejoy High School and assistant senior coach for Metroplex Aquatics. The teams at Lovejoy saw immediate success upon Coach Franks arrival, winning 8 district titles and 1 regional title while producing dozens of regional finalists, 12 state qualifiers, and 2 state champions.
As a member of the Metro staff Coach Franks helped produced 6 TAGs qualifiers, 24 sectional qualifiers, and 1 short course junior national qualifier. 
Since founding Iron Horse, the team has had tremendous growth producing more than two dozen TAGS qualifiers & finalists, over 20 Sectional qualifiers, 9 Futures qualifiers, 3 Winter Juniors Qualifiers and 1 Summer Juniors qualifier. 
Coach Franks is an ASCA Level 4 coach and looks forward to continuing to grow a team culture of enthusiasm, hard work and success. He is happily married to his wife Katie and they have two children, Gabriella and Gunnar.  
Coach Franks leads the Sr Elite & Platinum training groups. 
 
Coach Daiki Sato - Head Age Group Coach
Daiki ("D") Sato was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, and started swimming as an 8-year-old for the YMCA and continued competing into college. He earned a spot to compete at the WSC Conference Championships in both the 400 IM and 200 Breaststroke. Out of college, he worked for the NFL Network, where he served as a Ticker Operator and sports writer for Sportsouthwest.

He has always loved coaching and decided to leave his job at the NFLN to pursue it full-time; he is now entering his 16th year of coaching, spanning developmental 6&under swimmers all the way up to US Open athletes. In his most recent stint, he was the National team coach for South Carolina Swim Club, where he had produced multiple futures swimmers, Jr national swimmers and helped the team capture their first back-to-back state title( 4 out of 6 total this season) in over 5 years.

During his tenure at Paseo Aquatics (Santa Clarita, CA) he helped the team capture many firsts. For example, their 11-12 boys relay finished number 1 in Southern California Swimming (SCS), one of the strongest LSCs in the country; set a new SCS age group record in the girls 50 free, and many more. In addition, he has coached multiple NAG Top 10 athletes. Among all these, he is most proud of becoming the first Head Age-Group coach in Paseo Aquatics and serving as the DEI rep for the Coastal Committee in SCS.

Daiki is an ASCA level 4. He is very excited to be a part of Iron Horse Aquatic Club and help in the team's future growth.
 
Coach Justin Bilgri - Associate Head Age-Group Coach/ Director of Junior Program
Coach Justin joined the Iron Horse staff in the summer of 2023 and  has over a decade of teaching and coach experience at the summer league, high school and club levels. Coach Justin oversees the Summer Swim Team, Iron Express, the Iron Horse Junior Program as well as the Silver Training Group. 
 
Coach Luke Bezanilla - Strength & Conditioning Coach / Bronze 1
Coach Luke is an Iron Horse alumni. He was state qualifier and finalist in High School in both California and Texas as well as a Summer Junior National qualifier in multiple events. Coach Luke has his EMT license in addition to his swimming safety certifications. He has been a part of the Iron Horse staff for the past two years and was promoted to lead dryland coach in the spring of 2025.
 
Coach Katie Pollock  - Assistant Coach 
Katie has been swimming for as long as she can remember, starting her journey with her local YMCA before joining her high school varsity swim team as a 7th grader. Throughout her career, she earned multiple state qualifications, top finishes, and broke over 11 school records.
 
Katie continued her swimming career at the collegiate level, first competing for the University of New Mexico, where she was part of the program’s highest-ever team finish in the Mountain West Conference. She later transferred to the University at Buffalo, helping the women’s team make history by winning their first Mid-American Conference Championship. During her time at UB, Katie became a two-time MAC Champion in the 100 breaststroke and still holds the program records in the 100 breaststroke and both medley relays.
 
Now in her second season coaching with IronHorse Aquatics, Katie brings her experience and love for the sport to every practice. She’s passionate about helping young swimmers build confidence, develop strong technique, and discover their own joy in the sport. Katie believes swimming teaches valuable life lessons — discipline, resilience, and teamwork — that go far beyond the pool.
 
Coach Kelby Grist - Assistant Coach
Coach Grist was born and raised in Lubbock, Texas, where his passion for swimming began at an early age. A competitive swimmer throughout high school, he continued to stay connected to the sport while pursuing his degree in History and Education at Texas Tech University. During his time in college, Coach Grist coached at Lubbock Swim Club, helping develop young swimmers and fostering a love for the sport. He now serves as an Assistant High School Swim Coach for Frisco ISD. He is very excited to be joining the Iron Horse staff and help coach Senior Development.
 
Coach Laudy-Jane Allam - Assistant Age Group Coach
Coach Laudy joined Iron Horse Aquatics in the fall of 2022 and is the FISD Head Lifeguard and coaches Bronze 1 training group.
 
Coach Emily Frasco-Smith - Assistant Age Group Coach
Emily Frasco-Smith is so excited to be coaching for Iron Horse Aquatics! She began her club swim career at the age of 7 in the Dallas area and has loved being a part of the swimming community ever since. She attended Ursuline Academy of Dallas and then went on to swim NCAA Division 1 for Ohio University. During her career there, she won 9 MAC titles in sprint freestyle, was named First Team All-MAC, was team captain, and was an NCAA Academic All-American. Upon returning to the Dallas area, she began coaching for other club swim teams and country clubs in the area.
She holds an early childhood education degree from Ohio University, and a master’s degree in education from the University of Texas-Arlington. She currently resides in the Frisco area with her husband and two children and teaches Gifted and Talented at a private school in Plano.
Coach Emily will be coaching Engine & Iron groups for Iron Horse.
 
Coach Amber Craver - Assistant Age Group Coach 
Amber Craver is thrilled to be coaching for Iron Horse Aquatics! She began her club swim career at the age of 7 in Illinois and continued swimming in Texas with the Dallas Mustangs. She attended Ursuline Academy of Dallas and then went on to swim NCAA Division 3 for Springfield College. She began volunteer coaching and giving swim lessons while living in Oregon for the Oregon City Swim Team. There she fell in love with the sport again is happy to assist in growing a new team with strong foundations in the sport.
Amber holds a BS and Master’s degree in Physical Therapy from Springfield College. She currently resides in the Mckinney area with her husband and three girls (Cora, Cayna and Callie) who are excited to be part of a Iron Horse Aquatics.
Coach Amber will be coaching the Bronze 2 Group and assisting with the Silver training group.
 
Coach DJ McKenna - Assistant Age Group Coach
DJ McKenna draws upon her extensive experience as a Masters-level swimmer, triathlete, RRCA-certified running coach, trail ultra-marathoner, and weighted ruck-sack competitor to inform her coaching. Outside athletics, as a former kindergarten teacher, PHR-certified human resources generalist, community volunteer, active Scouts BSA leader for almost a decade, and former long-time PTA Vice President, DJ thrives when serving others and helping individuals and communities reach their full potential.
DJ grew up in an Army family, earned her B.S. in Early Childhood Education from Auburn University, and then married an Army officer. All three of her sons competed extensively in club swimming. Her two oldest enjoyed distinguished high school varsity swim careers, earning spots on the West Point and Princeton NCAA swim teams, respectively, and her youngest son is a junior at Texas A&M.
A passionate competitive athlete in her own right, Coach DJ brings grit, discipline, and a deliberate, process-focused approach to Iron Horse Aquatics, where she will coach our Engine & Iron group swimmers this year.
 
Coach Alex Valliant - Assistant Coach
Coach Alex was born and raised in Madison County, VA and started swimming at the age of 7 for BASS Swimming. After graduating Virginia Tech, Alex moved to Northern VA where her coaching career began at FISH in their mini-FISH program. 

While Alex has moved for her full time job at Capital One, Alex has always continued to grow her passion for coaching. She spent time at both GOLD swimming and Dynamo in Atlanta, GA before moving to TX and joining Iron Horse. 

Throughout her 10 year swim coaching career, Alex has developed a strong background in the development of 10 and unders. 
 
Alex will be assisting in coaching our Iron Horse Junior Program this year.
 
Diving Team Staff
Claudia Sunday - Head Coach Diving
Coach Sunday has over 20 years of experience in the sport of Diving. She is a Houston native and began her career as a gymnast and then transitioned to diving when she was 12. She dove for Bay Area Stars under Sven and Kuni Schultz. She dove varsity all 4-years at Clear Creek HS and shattered the HS record that had stood for over 20 years. After graduating high school, Sunday continued her diving career at Texas Christian University diving for Texas Hall of Fame diver, Wayne Chester, where she dove all 4 years while pursuing her degree in Psycho-social Kinesiology. Following her undergraduate degree, she furthered her education and received Master’s in Liberal Arts studies at TCU to pursue her love for teaching.
After finishing her Master's degree, Coach Sunday founded the North Texas Dive Team, a small club team in Plano which she coached for several years before moving to Frisco to take the Head District Diving Coach position. During her tenure as a head coach she has produced multiple Top 3 Divers in the State, State finalists, has helped multiple dives aquire college scholarships, and was named Coach of the Year in 2020. She is most excited for the opportunity to invest in and help lead Iron Horse Diving athletes to success.
 
Coach Marsha Lynch  - Assistant Dive Coach