JHS senior Emalee Pool to leave a multi-sport legacy
By Ryne Turke
Emalee Pool’s athletic journey has never been about choosing one path. The Jacksonville High School senior says her focus has always been on discovering new ways to challenge herself and inspire those closest to her.
Pool’s life has always included sports, especially growing up in a family like hers. Coaches and athletes surrounded her from an early age, including her late father, coach Bill Pool. He and many others left a lasting impression on the way she approached competition and teamwork.
“They taught me how to be coachable, hardworking, competitive and humble,” Pool says. “Those lessons stuck, and they became the foundation for everything that followed.”
At just three years old, Pool was running around the Jacksonville Soccer Association fields, learning the game and falling in love with being part of a team. She began her career as an offensive threat, but when she reached high school, everything shifted. Coach Drew Comstock noticed her competitive edge, which translated into four years of varsity play.
“Emalee Pool is something else,” Comstock says. “She is one of the most selfless, team-oriented, driven individuals I have had the pleasure of coaching. She plays at the highest intensity at all times. She is a physical presence on the field with speed, IQ and ability in the air. She has been a pillar for the JHS Girls Soccer program since day one.”
Volleyball told a different story. Pool spent years finding her role and figuring out how to make an impact on the court. Her sophomore year changed everything when coach Gary Hickox trusted her to step in as the varsity libero, a specialized defensive player who focuses on elite back-row passing, digging and serve-receive.
“That inspired me to work even harder and up my game to rise to those expectations,” she says.
Hickox says Pool “means the world” to the Jacksonville volleyball program.
“She is a coach’s dream player — hardworking, a great teammate and a great leader. Pool is always cheering for someone else on the team. She has grown so much from her freshman year to now. She became a leader her junior year and continued that leadership her senior year. She would make a great coach if she wanted to pursue that in the future.”
Dance, a constant in Pool’s life since age three at Stevens School of Dance & Gymnastics and the now-renamed facility, Legacy Dance & Tumbling Complex, offered another way to grow. Pool notes that tumbling, all-star cheer and competitive dance gave her a space to express herself and push through both frustrating and rewarding moments.
“The combination of all my coaches and their unique personalities has shaped me into the competitive athlete but genuine person I am today,” she shares.
Pool says her multi-sport approach has become a core belief, as each sport adds something unique both physically and mentally.
“I would describe my game as tenacious, intense and joyful. No matter how hard I compete, you will always notice me with a smile on my face and sweat on my forehead.”
Hickox and Comstock echoed those characteristics, noting her positive attitude, team-first mentality, and the way she leaves every program she’s involved in better than she found it.
Outside of sports, Pool has excelled academically, earning high honor roll recognition, academic all-conference honors in both sports, and the Daughters of the American Revolution award.
The next chapter of Pool’s athletic career will see her on the volleyball court for John Wood Community College, a program that is already making her feel right at home.
“Once I met the coaching staff, everything clicked,” she says. “I saw an opportunity not just to continue playing the sport I love, but to keep growing, keep learning and eventually find the right fit at a four-year university.”
Emalee Pool is the daughter of Jennifer and the late Bill Pool.
Thank you to #4 for making your mark in Crimson athletics.
