Dynah Smith

Coach Dynah was born and raised in the Bay Area of California, and eventually moved down to southern California to attend California State University, Fullerton. In high school, she was a multi-sport athlete including basketball, volleyball, swim, and water polo.

In 2017, her and her fiance, Coach Grant (who is also an ARVC coach), decided to make the move to Albuquerque. Right away, Coach Dynah got involved with coaching by volunteering at small summer clinics with the APIAL league. Her passion for the game quickly grew, and she became an assistant coach with ABQ Volleyball, a small local volleyball club where she learned much more about herself as a coach and the game of volleyball in general. From there, she became the head coach of St. Mary's Catholic School Varsity team, where her team took 1st place in the APIAL championship! After coaching at St. Mary's, she spent 2 years coaching at Sandia High School with a state tournament appearance.

After her 2 years at Sandia, she made the move to La Cueva High School, where she currently coaches. She head coached the 2021 La Cueva C-Team to the best finish the program ever had. She has assisted the varsity team in 2 BACK-TO-BACK New Mexico State Championships, 2 District Championships, an Albuquerque Metro Championship, and an overall record of 51-1, with a completely undefeated 2022 season. Being a part of the La Cueva program is one her proudest accomplishments!

During her 4 years here at ARVC, she has had the privilege of taking 2 amazing teams to the Girls Junior National Championships, with one team finishing top 5 in their division. She has also had the chance to be the head coach of 13s Academy Program for 2 years. She is incredibly proud to be a part of the ARVC family and is so thankful for the opportunities that ARVC has given her, as well as the investment from the directors into coach development.

Coach Dynah prides herself in being a student of the game. She is always eager to learn, constantly reading articles from the college or international level and watching LOTS of film! She believes that her job as a coach is to never stop learning about the game of volleyball.

When Coach Dynah isn't coaching, she is probably reading in bed with her two dogs and two cats. She also loves traveling with her friends and family, online shopping, face-timing, trying new restaurants, and going to the beach!

Coach Dynah's Mission: My mission is to create an environment for our athletes that is filled with love, transparency, and accountability. I want to mold these athletes into great humans through the game of volleyball, teaching them resiliency, determination, teamwork, and that mistakes are encouraged.

Coach Dynah's Favorite Quote: "If it's too demanding, if it's going to be too long, too difficult, too far, too much, too big, too new, if it requires you to do your best, if it's going to teach you something about yourself, then it's worth it."