Bio

Pearce enters his third year as the Head Coach for both Men’s and Women's teams. He served as the Associate Head Coach for over eight years, working directly with long-time Hall of Fame Coach Dan Dubois. Coach Dale was named the Head Coach and Assistant Athletic Director in July of 2021. He has oversight of the MCC Student-Athlete Leadership Programming, Aquatics Center, Success Coaching Model, and Athletic Facility oversight.      

The Staff has witnessed great success as the Men have won the last two Region III Titles, the In-Season Dan Dubois Championship Team Award, and the NJCAA National Non-Scholarship Titles the past two seasons. The Women captured the In-Season Dan Dubois Championship Team Award and were crowned Co-NJCAA National Non-Scholarship Champions in 2023. The coaching staff was named Region III Men’s Coaching Staff of The Year in 2022 and 2023.

Coach Dale has coached collegiately since 2007, having stints with SUNY Brockport (2007-2010) and Buffalo State College (2010-2012). Pearce worked with various stroke groups in both schools and acted as an academic advisor for many student-athletes in his tenure. Pearce is a graduate of Genesee Community College (05’) and SUNY Brockport (09’), where he swam competitively for all four years. Pearce broke numerous records at each school and was inducted into the Genesee Community College Athletic Hall of Fame.   

Dale brings a wealth of Aquatic and Mechanical knowledge to the department. He is an instructor for the Pool & Hot Tub Alliance and teaches the Certified Pool Operators course to area aquatic technicians. Before working at Buffalo State College, he worked eight years as an aquatic technician/trainer for Darien Lake Theme Park and Resort. There, he helped maintain an 11-acre waterpark. Pearce is also a certified Lifeguard Instructor through the American Red Cross. 

Pearce holds a B.S. in Kinesiology (09’) from SUNY Brockport, an M.S.Ed. in Career Technical Education (12’) from Buffalo State College, M.S.Ed. (16’) in Athletic Administration from SUNY Brockport. He has completed his Ed.S in Educational Leadership (20’) from the American College of Education (ACE) in Indianapolis. He plans to defend his dissertation (Ed.D.) this Fall (2023) in Skilled Trades Registered Apprenticeships from ACE. Before working full-time in Athletics, Pearce worked for nine years in Workforce Development and Career and Technical Education in numerous leadership positions at the MCC. He was the Co-Creator of the Finger Lakes Youth Apprenticeship Program and is still an advocate for career paths in technical fields.   

Dale contributes his experience as a former NJCAA student-athlete to drive him into a career in higher education, coaching, and in athletics. In his spare time, Dale enjoys time with his beautiful wife, Meghan, and children, Nolan and Delaney. Some of his hobbies are triathlons, skateboarding, punk-rock music and art.