When Dave Foxen first stepped on the wrestling mat in 7th grade, he had something most other wrestlers did not have – Hall of Fame coach Reggie Jones Sr. in his corner. Dave took that initial positive experience and has dedicated himself to the sport of wrestling for the past 40+ years. He has excelled in all aspects of the sport- as a wrestler, a coach, an official, and an administrator. Wrestling has taken him around the world, and all those who worked with him have benefitted from his passion and expertise.

Dave graduated from Garden City High School as an All-County wrestler in 1970, and was fortunate to be able to continue wrestling for a number of esteemed coaches during his collegiate wrestling career. First, he competed for Larry Schechitano and Mark Piven at NY Maritime College. Later he was a 3-time NY State Collegiate champion and team captain for Don Murray’s SUNY, Brockport team. During that time, Dave started wrestling for the NYAC, where he was 10x AA/US Open place winner, and competed in the USA. Final Olympic team trials in 1972, 1976, 1980, and 1984.

Dave began his coaching career when he returned to SUNY Brockport from 1974-77, and helped his former coach guide the team to 3 SUNY Championships and the 1977 DIV III National Championship. The following year, he oved on to coach at Deerfield Academy and led them to the Team Runner-up in the New England Championships. While there, he also coached Abdullah Hussein, the 115 lb. New England champion and the current King of Jordan.

Attending graduate school at the University of Massachusetts in 1978-80, Dave did not use that as a reason to take time off from wrestling. Instead, he helped coach the UMass wrestling team to back-to-back runner-up finishes in the Division I NE Championships, In addition, a total of 5 wrestlers qualified for the NCAA Championships. The following year, as a head coach of Amherst College, he produced the first undefeated team in the 50+ year history of the college program. For the past 12 years, Dave has shared his extensive experience and wrestling knowledge as an assistant coach at 3 different Long Island High Schools: Garden City, Chaminade, and Port Washington.

In addition to competing and coaching, Dave has continued to serve the sport of wrestling in many other capacities. Following a stint as a USA Wrestling Official from 2000-2005, he has served as a Board member of the NY USA Wrestling from 2005-present. Since 2012, Dave has also served as Wrestling Chairman of the New York Athletic Club, where he supports a team of 50 senior level wrestlers in all the three styles: Greco-Roman, Women’s freestyle and Men’s freestyle. Under Dave’s watch, the NYAC has won 5 overall National titles and placed 6 wrestlers on the 2016 Olympic Team.