Dallastown graduate and current Phys. Ed teacher Shannon Werner has a long history with the sport of volleyball.

After playing the game at family gatherings in the summers, she decided to take it to a more competitive level by trying out for the junior high team in seventh grade.

That was just the beginning.

After an impressive high school and college career, Werner returned to Dallastown in 2003 to become the Varsity Girls Volleyball coach.

This fall, Werner decided to step down from this position. As her oldest daughter Erica entered DHS, Werner decided she preferred to spectate her daughter rather than to be her coach.

The Road to DHS and Back

Werner found early on that she truly loved the game of volleyball, and enjoyed playing for her school team. This lead to her decision to take it one step further and play on a travel team called the South PA’s.

 Over her 8th and 9th grade summers, Werner attended a camp in New York that lasted 5 weeks. This camp is one of the factors that paved the way for Werner being able to compete at such a high level.

“Without this camp, I don’t think I would have made it to Penn State,” Werner said.

While Werner attended Dallastown, she conquered her position as the setter on the Volleyball team. Her junior year the volleyball team placed second in the state.  Werner’s senior season, the team fell short again losing in the quarter final of the state tournament.

Despite not winning a state title, as a junior and senior Werner earned the Gatorade Player of the Year award for the state of Pennsylvania and the Mid-Atlantic Region. One of these plaques is even shown in the gym lobby showcase.

Werner’s Penn State Experience

After high school Werner went on to play division 1 college volleyball at Penn State. Her freshman year they won the national championship, the first in Penn State Women’s volleyball history.

The next three years she continued to play volleyball at Penn State, while there Werner studied Kinesiology. Werner said she was first interested in this major, because of her first ever club volleyball coach Darla Pennewiel. 

Werner states, “ She did this, and I wanted to be like her.” 

Since then Werner has been teaching various physical education classes and health courses at Dallastown. 

Werner was also the Varsity girls volleyball coach. In December of 2020 she announced her resignation from coaching after 18 years of coaching. 

Werner mentioned that she will miss coaching a lot. She loved the personal relationships more than anything. Werner loved to see her players grow as people and athletes. 

Werner’s players say her love for the sport is contagious. 

 “ My favorite thing about Coach Werner was her sense of humor. As well as the way she made all of us enjoy the sport!”senior Izzy Ream said.

Senior player Mya Gilliam agrees. 

“I love the passion Coach Werner has with all of her players. She saw potential in every single one of us, and always pushed us to reach that potential. The joy of me being able to go from a freshman who barely understood the game, to winning a county championship title, was all thanks to her,” Gilliam said. 

Werner accomplished a lot in her 18 years of coaching but her favorite memory will always be winning the YAIAA title in 2018.

Dallastown Volleyball in New Hands

Volleyball Coach Joe Ramp will be taking over the coaching position at Dallastown. He previously was the coach at West York high school, and stepped down in 2019. Ramp coached there for 9 years, and in 2018 led his team to a state title for the PIAA Class 3-A.

Ramp will have former Eastern York coach Jen Riechard by his side next season. They have previously coached with each other at River Rock Academy. Now, they both hope to take their coaching chemistry to the courts of DAHS.