Dave was a teacher and coach in the Madison school system. He taught science at Polson Middle School for 29 years and coached wrestling at Daniel Hand High for more than 33 years, teaching young men and women lessons about life and wrestling.

His Tigers won more than 300 matches (319-139-3), 10 Southern Connecticut Conference championships and a Class M state championship in 1995. They finished second in 1989. Dave coached two All-American wrestlers, four New England champions, eight State Open champions and 24 state champions.

Dave was a head coach at Hand three times: 1987-98, 2003-10 and 2019-20. He was the co-head coach at Hand in 2018-19 and spent one year as a head coach at East Haven (1998-99). He was an assistant coach at The Morgan School in 1999 when the Huskies won their only state championship trophy.

Dave also spent 10 seasons as a volunteer coach with Hand. A state champion wrestler in high school at Hand, Dave was inducted into the Madison Athletic Hall of Fame in 2015 as a coach and athlete.

He graduated from Southern Connecticut State University with a teaching degree. He was one of the youngest coaches in the state when he took over at Hand in 1987. He was hired to teach in Madison in 1989.

At Hand, D'Alessio was named wrestling coach of the year six times by the New Haven Register and was voted by his peers as Coach of the Year twice.

During his second run with the Tigers (2003-10), Hand had eight consecutive winning seasons with seven 20-win campaigns including a school-record 26 wins in 2006 (26-3). For three straight seasons (2008-10), Hand won the Southern Connecticut Conference championship and was ranked in the final top 10 state coaches poll of the year, getting as high as No. 6 in 2010.

Wrestling was family to Dave and it is most evident in the many wrestlers who stayed in his life, called for advice, and considered him a best friend. He felt tradition was important and always welcomed past wrestlers into the wrestling room for practice, or for a phone or video call before a big meet.

Dave passed away in March 2020 at the age of 55. He was survived by his wife of 29 years, Diane, and their two children, Andy and Hailey.

Posted by the Connecticut Chapter of the National Wresting Hall of Fame, May 2025