Kenny Dodson began bumping a volleyball at the early age of 6. He comes from a volleyball family and has been exposed to the sport literally his entire life. During his formative years, he grew up in Bishop Guilfoyle High School's gym, watching his father, Tim Dodson and uncle, John Porta, coach the BG girls' volleyball team. Eventually, Tim took over the BG boys' program, where Kenny attended every practice, gathering balls for the team, and watching his dad coach the drills. Kenny attended all the games and tournaments, learning through observation, and when he was old enough, Kenny began playing himself. His first participation in organized volleyball was in Altoona's parochial league, representing St. Mary's Catholic School. After completing fifth grade, Kenny switched to public school at McAuliffe Heights Elementary, before graduating to Keith Junior High School. All the while, Kenny watched his dad play in the Altoona Men's Power League on Sundays.

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     7th grade brought Kenny his first taste of advanced volleyball, starting out as a defensive specialist on his dad's men's team (this was before libero existed as a position). He gathered playing experience over that next year, and when in 8th grade, Coach Eric Kozac and Coach John Saboe offered to have him be a manager for the Altoona High boys' team. Through that, Kenny played defensive specialist on the offseason club team with Altoona's varsity and practiced against them every day during the season. Having another year of experience under his belt, Kenny hit the ground running for his first year of high school eligibility.

 

     As a freshman, Kenny started for the varsity as a defensive specialist. He also played setter in a 6-2 offense for the JV team his 9th-grade year. Following the season, Kenny joined the Laurel Highlands team for his first Keystone State Games. He helped the team to a bronze medal as a defensive specialist (this was the last season before libero came along). When 10th grade rolled around, Kenny took over the setter position on varsity for Altoona. Thanks to his stability at setter, the transition from the previous senior setter went smoothly and the team ended with a very good record, despite being a young squad. That summer, Kenny made the first court at both the Juniata Volleyball Camp (run by former PSU men's assistant coach Dennis Hohenshelt) and the Penn State University Summer camp, where he beat out hundreds of other players to get there. The following season, he maintained his position as setter, leading Altoona to defeat a number of state ranked teams and making the District 6 finals. Sadly, the team lost to State College and with that end, 7 seniors graduated from the varsity team. Kenny was due to be the ONLY returning varsity player for his senior season. Later that summer, Kenny set the Laurel Highlands team to another bronze medal at Keystones. 

 

Now in his final year of high school, Kenny switched to sharing setting duties with Jason Garman in a 6-2 offense, due to the lack of experience from the incoming players. When he wasn't setting from the back row, Kenny was hitting outside in the front row and serve receive passing for 3 rotations. During that campaign, Kenny surpassed 2000 career assists and broke the record for most assists in a career for Altoona High. A record that, to his knowledge, still stands 20 years later.

 

      When his 5th season with the team wrapped up, Kenny broke down in the locker room and cried uncontrollably. It hit him all at once that this was the end of an era. But that volleyball life wasn't over yet! He attended his final Keystone State Games with Laurel Highlands and led them to a silver medal. Now with his high school time behind him, Kenny moved on to the Penn State Altoona club team. This may not sound like much of an achievement, but due to the lack of college varsity programs back then, club competition 20 years ago was equal (and often better than) today's Division III. Men's college volleyball has expanded exponentially since Kenny graduated, showing the sport's explosive growth in the past couple of decades! 

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      At PSA, Kenny started as setter from freshman year through the first semester of his senior year. Every season, the team improved its finishing rankings at nationals. And following the the Christmas break his senior year, Kenny switched to the libero position. A Saint Francis freshman recruit transferred to Penn State Altoona for the second semester. He could touch 11'3,'' and Kenny could touch 10'3," so it was a no brainer for Kenny to step aside and switch positions, despite being a career setter. The team went on to have the highest finish at nationals in school history! Kenny's serve receive passes and defense were a big part of that success. 

 

     After graduating PSU with a Film/Video degree in 2010, Kenny moved to Los Angeles to be a part of the film industry. He worked in the Editing Department of several $30 million+ movies such as The Blind Side, Saving Mr. Banks, and We Bought A Zoo. During his years there, he played in a ton of open gyms and tournaments, often having D1 players from teams like UCLA and USC in attendance. He played against competition unlike any he had faced before, which further refined his skills. Several years later, he moved to Austin, Texas and joined a USAV men's club team. As libero, Kenny helped the team win it's first USAV Regional Title and a Top 5 finish at nationals.

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     After having children, Kenny and his wife wanted to get back to PA so the kids would be closer to their grandparents. Currently residing in Bedford, Kennys volleyball career has come full circle when he became the assistant boys' volleyball coach for the Blair Volleyball Academy (BVA) club team in winter of 2025, under his uncle John Porta, and with his father serving as the other assistant. Then in spring 2026, Kenny's dad once again took over as the Bishop Guilfoyle boys' head coach to support his great nephew. This came roughly 30 years after Tim's first stint! But the second time around has been slightly different than the first. Instead of ball boy, Kenny has joined him as an assistant coach!

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     Kenny's daughter is now completing her first organized volleyball season at Blair Rec with the McAuliffe Heights 4th-5th grade team. This is what inspired Kenny to start 814 Volleyball School. After seeing the turnout in their open gyms, Kenny realized that there is a hunger and a need for a year-round place to play and learn for the youth in the 814. His goal is to foster a volleyball culture in this area to rival that of Pittsburgh and York/Harrisburg/Lancaster.

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      Kenny's time as a film editor has trained his eye to deconstruct movement frame-by-frame, a skill he brings directly to the court. Using his knowledge of video equipment and professional video editing software, Kenny will record sessions for the JV high school course and above students, and provide them with a detailed review of their performances and progress. This will accelerate development through precise visual analysis to pair with his on-court instruction.