Player Bio
Describing Allen Elliott’s rise to prominence in Freestyle Frisbee is a classic tale of a relatively unknown player who goes on to win it all. He began playing while attending the University of Houston in the late 1970’s. A chance encounter on campus led him to the local ‘Space City Frisbee Club’. That initial spark proved fortuitous. Eager to learn more and become more proficient, Allen attended some tourneys where he met up with the famous ‘Coloradicals’ who in a few months would win the 1980 Rose Bowl. Rick Castiglia and Doug Branigan quickly took to the young Texan and helped teach him the ropes. He was a quick study.
Soon after that, he met the mercurial Donnie Rhodes and they quickly became partners. They were a perfect match. Donnie’s virtuosity was off the charts, but it only added to Allen’s inspiration. But much to Donnie’s surprise, Allen was soon pushing the limits of play, and pushing his own game to new levels. When Donnie would introduce a new move, Allen would quickly adapt it as his own. Also, if you study their games, you’ll note they are both very flexible, skilled to the extreme, and both driven to excel. Their Co-ops were the things of legend, and the routines they did together were unequaled when contrasted to their play with different partners. You can’t separate Donnie from Allen. Their chemistry and complimentary styles were exquisite.
Some quick notes on Allen: He won the first event that he ever entered (’79 North Texas Open) and then made the finals in all 5 of his National and World competitions as a complete unknown in 1980. Next, he would go on to win the Rose Bowl (with Donnie Rhodes and Jeff Felberbaum) in only his second year of competition and then followed that by winning the Co-op title at the ’82 FPA Worlds the following year. In total, Allen won 2 World titles, 5 National Events, a World Seniors Title (’94) and 7 Texas State Championships. Allen also performed numerous demonstrations at various universities, Major League Baseball games, NBA halftimes, Johnson Space Center (NASA) and a television commercial for Stop-and-Go Convenience stores.
After Donnie retired from Freestyle Competition, Allen teamed up with John Houck and stayed together as a team for the next 15 years. Also, during this time Allen was able to team up with such legendary players as Chipper Bro Bell, Deaton Mitchell, and Gina Sample.
