Dave matriculated and learnt to cox at St. Catharine's College in 2000. He was Captain of his College Boat Club 2003-04 and again in 2005-06. As a cox, Dave has won with Molesey at the UK National Veteran Championships and Veteran Head of the River Race, and coxed the 2007 Lightweight Blue Boat.

He has coached various College crews and athletes since 2003 to success in on-Cam, regional and Varsity races. As such, Dave was Assistant Coach for the 2008 Lightweight Boat Race and Acting Head Coach for the first half of the 2009 campaign. He was selected for the job of Head Coach by the executive committee shortly before the start of the 2010 campaign.