Coach Dan was born in Wilton, CT and moved to Louisville, KY when he was 9 years old. He competed in state and national chess competitions, along with playing soccer for top premier clubs in the Louisville area.
After high school, Coach Dan was recruited to the University of Montevallo (Alabama), where he played 4 years of college soccer. He also founded the University of Montevallo chess club, which still competes today.
In his freshman year, Coach Dan helped his soccer team get to the NCAA Div 2 “Final 4” (losing in the 2nd extra time).
In his senior year, he captained Montevallo to win the Peach Belt Conference Tournament Championship & reach a national ranking of #2, with a season record of 18-2-2. During that year, Coach Dan tied the school record for most games started in a season & earned a place on both the 2010 All-Conference Academic Team & the 2010 All-Region Academic Team. In 2018, he was inducted in to Montevallo’s Hall of Fame.
After college graduation, he brought his chess and soccer skills back to his birth state of Connecticut. Upon arrival, he played soccer for CFC Azul in the Professional Development League. He also competed in many large chess tournaments like the Boston Congress and Bradley Open.
While playing for CFC Azul, Dan coached for the Wilton Soccer Association, and coached for Beachside Soccer Club.
During this time, Coach Dan began teaching individual chess and soccer lessons. In 2013, he founded DIG Inc. He has helped many players improve their fundamentals, fitness, & attitude.
In 2017, Coach Dan was featured in the Hartford Courant (newspaper): “Program Pays It Forward With North End Chess Lessons” (7/17/17).
And then on Fox61 (television): “Connecticut man teaches life lessons to kids one chess move at a time” (8/9/17).
He has also been featured in the Connecticut Post, Norwalk Hour, Westport Lifestyle Magazine , three times on News 12 (News 12 #1, News 12 #2, News 12 #3)and Wilton Bulletin.
Coach Dan is a fully-licensed soccer coach, having earned the NSCAA Premier Diploma. Additionally, he earned a Master’s Degree from the Gabelli School of Business, Fordham University, New York City.
Examples of Dan’s Students’ Successes
Early in 2018, Dan met Shawn Parker at the Hartford Public Library, Albany Branch (CT). When he challenged Shawn and his friends to a game of chess, Dan recognized Shawn’s potential for the game. Shawn started weekly training with Dan and other DIG chess coaches. On July 28-29, 2018, Shawn competed in his first official chess tournament finishing with 1 win and 4 losses, placing 31st place in the U1200 division at the Bradly Open (Hartford, CT). After that tournament, Shawn was USCF rated 502. Shawn continued competing in multiple tournaments every month while practicing weekly. On January 5-6, 2019, Shawn took 1st place in the Boston Chess Congress Tournament in the U1250 division, finishing with 4 wins and 1 draw. Shawn received a $372 check for winning the tournament. After this tournament, Shawn’s rating increased to 1246, more than doubling in less than 6 months. Currently, Shawn’s rating is 1304 and he attends the University of Connecticut while coaching chess lessons for DIG.
Max Andrews (Wilton, CT) started soccer training with Dan in 2013 at 8 years old. Dan coached Max on his town travel team and did private lessons with him. In 2018, Max signed with the New York City Red Bulls U14 soccer team. Over that summer, he started and played the full match against Bayern Munich in the ICC Futures Semi-Finals in Orlando, FL, televised on ESPN. Max continued playing for the Redbulls Academy Team all the way up to the U19 age group. He started coaching for DIG at the age of 17 and continues coaching for DIG when he has time. In 2022, he started his Freshman season at the United States Military Academy West Point. In his Freshman season at West Point, he was awarded Patriot League Rookie of the Year + All-Patriot League Second Team. Max was a key member of Army’s backline throughout his plebe season, making 14 starts at center back and logging the second most minutes on the team. Coming into the starting lineup in Army’s second game of the season, the Black Knights suffered just one defeat across its final 13 contests en route to the regular season title with Andrews in the starting XI. A vital part of four shutout efforts, Andrews came in at No. 79 in Top Drawer Soccer’s Freshmen Rankings following his standout rookie season. In order to reach his goal of becoming a professional soccer player, Max decided to transfer to Boston College. He will start is Sophmore season at Boston College in the Fall of 2023.
In 2017, Dan met Gabe Watson at the Albany Ave YMCA in Hartford CT. Dan recognized Gabe’s talent and Gabe began playing in competitive chess tournaments. In July 2018, Gabe tied for 2nd in the U1200 division at the Bradley Open (Hartford, CT). Three days later, he was featured in the Connecticut Chess Magazine and called “Connecticut’s Rising Chess Star .” In August, he competed in the U1618 division at the 53rd New Britain Chess Club Summer Open (Manchester, CT). He beat 2 players rated above 1400 and now he is rated 1220. Dan also helped this young man apply for and receive a college scholarship to UConn (Hartford).