Plano East senior Dakota Huynh, middle, poses for pictures with her father, David, and mother, Snow. Photo courtesy David Huynh
By David Wolman
Plano East senior libero Dakota Huynh started learning the game of volleyball earlier than most players.
When she was 3 years old, Huynh made underhanded throws to her father, David, mother, Snow, and her older sister, Trinity.
Dakota had plenty of volleyball experience to lean on during her early years, including David, a former volleyball player who competed for recreation league teams and in several Asian league tournaments. He is currently the head coach for the Dallas Skyline Juniors 15 Royal David club team. Meanwhile, Trinity logged more than 3,000 career digs at Plano Senior and Parish Episcopal before graduating in 2022.
One of Dakota’s biggest mentors was Ruth Nelson. Nelson amassed an overall record of 557-230 as head coach at George Williams College, the University of Houston, Louisiana State University and the University of Iowa.
Nelson began coaching Dakota when Dakota was four and a half years old, and Nelson continues to watch Dakota play while providing her with valuable feedback after matches to help improve her knowledge of the game.
“Ruth is a great coach,” David said. “She loves what she’s doing and does a great job of teaching the basic fundamentals. She still supports her. She conversated with Dakota for a while at the Allen tournament. She is a very good mentor. She loves passion the Dakota has, and she has the same passion for Dakota. They have connected well for the game of volleyball.”
Read the full story in the Sept. 3, 2026, edition of the Murphy Monitor. Stay informed — subscribe to Murphy Monitor.
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