Dale Parker is entering his second season as head coach of the Lander Bearcat men's soccer team. Parker returned to Greenwood as the Head Coach in January 2023 after serving as the lead assistant from 2019 through 2021.
In his first season as head coach at Lander, Parker led the Bearcats to a 9-5-4 overall record and a 7-1-2 conference record. After a successful regular season, the Bearcats were tabbed as the No. 2 seed in the 2023 PBC tournament bracket. Lander went on to defeat the No. 3 seed North Georgia 3-0 in the semifinals before falling to the No. 1 seeded Clayton State 2-4 in the championship game.Â
Under Parker, the Bearcats received three PBC Player of the Week honors, two PBC Defender of the Week honors, and two Goalkeeper of the Week honors throughout the 2023 season. Lander also had four first-team players and one second-teamer on the 2023 All-Conference Team. Coach Parker's leadership also led to the addition of an All-American to his team in the form of forward Christian Hatley. Hatley was also selected to the D2CCA All-Southeast Region First Team and the United Soccer Coaches All-Southeast Region team alongside teammate Jed Smith.
Parker served under former head coach Lee Squires for three seasons before being named the head men's soccer coach at Lincoln Memorial in 2022.
After going 2-13-2 in 2021, Parker led the Railsplitters to a 10-8-1 record in 2022 that saw his squad advance to the South Atlantic Conference Championship game.
Under Parker, LMU saw Harry Cooke named to the D2CCA All-America team along with earning SAC Offensive Player of The Year honors while also being named the SAC Freshman of The Year. Three other Railsplitters were also named to the SAC All-Conference team last season.
While at Lander, Parker helped the Bearcats to a Peach Belt Regular Season Title (2021) and coached 10 Lander athletes to Peach Belt All-Conference honors including two PBC Freshman of the Year and one PBC Player of the Year honor. Parker was also part of the staff awarded United Soccer Coaches Regional Staff of the Year (2021).
Parker also serves as the head coach of the Appalachian Football Club in the National Premier Soccer League. In their inaugural season, he led the program to a third-place finish in the NPSL Southeast Conference, making it to the conference semi-finals in year one. In his second season (2022), Parker led his team to the Southeast Conference Regular Season title, Southeast Conference Tournament title and went on a run that ended in the National Quarter Final (Regional Final). Parker was awarded the Southeast Conference Coach of the Year, East Region Coach of the Year and NPSL National Coach of the Year honors.
A two-time All-American and three-year captain at Lees-McRae College, Parker helped the Bobcats capture three regular-season titles and advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament in 2007, last 16 in 2008 and the National Championship Game in 2009. Parker played 80 matches at Lees-McRae, including a stretch of 72 consecutive starts. In his final season as a Bobcat, Parker led his team to an appearance in the NCAA National Championship match in 2009. In 2022, Parker was inducted into the Lees-McRae College Athletics Hall of Fame for his contributions to the program as part of the 2009 team, and their NCAA Championship run.
Prior to arriving in Greenwood in 2019, Parker served as the Director of Coaching for Virginia Soccer Association and as a head coach for the Virginia Development Academy Program. He also worked as the Director of Coaching for Chesterfield United FC and as head coach for the club's women's pre-WPSL team.Â
Parker currently holds an A-License from the United States Soccer Federation, which is the highest level of coaching license one can receive in the U.S. The Worksop, England native also holds qualifications from the World Football Academy and The Football Association (England).
