Pace Athletics has made many new additions and changes to var­ious athletics programs over the past year. Among these changes, the athletics department has hired a new coach for the men’s and women’s diving; Logan Pearsall.

With notable hires like Tom Mariano, the new lacrosse coach, and Pat Kennedy, the new bas­ketball coach, along with the an­nouncement of the additions of two new women’s sports teams (lacrosse and field hockey), Lo­gan Pearsall comes in eager to help continue to build up the Pace diving team.

“I think that the program here at Pace has a very strong founda­tion that can we build upon,” said Pearsall, a graduate of Clarion University, where he majored in Liberal Studies with a concentra­tion in athletic coaching. “From here we can only look to make it stronger, and we do that by put­ting the Pace name out there, us­ing our resources and contacts to show how good this school can be. We want to get to the point where we can be recognized on the Conference level and on the National level.”

Coming from a Division II school, where he was named the NCAA Diver of the Year two years in a row (2010-2011), Pearsall comes to familiar terri­tory with Pace.

“One of the reasons I chose Pace was because it’s a Division II school,” said Pearsall, who was previously the head coach at Wheaton College, a Division III school. “In Division I schools you see that they are very competi­tive, but the focus is put more on athletics and not so much on the academics.”

“Division III schools on the other hand are not as competi­tive. I think that with Division II schools you strike the perfect bal­ance because they are competi­tive, but academics are also very important,” Pearsall said. “I think that this is important because it’s a great way to showcase complete student athletes.”

Pearsall feels an importance in bringing out the best in student athletes.

“I enjoy coaching because it’s a great way to interact with people, and it allows me to pass on my knowledge to my pupils,” said Pearsall, who also coaches the age group powerhouse Whirl­wind Diving, a kid’s diving group out of the New Canaan, Connect­icut YMCA. “Everything I have learned throughout my career and life I am able to contribute and that gives me a great sense of sat­isfaction.”

Pearsall has plenty of expe­rience, considering he has been coaching since he was a freshman in high school. He started off as an assistant coach in high school, while swimming has been some­thing that he has done his whole life.

“I love anything that is com­petitive, but the thing about swimming is that it’s a very indi­vidual sport, but it’s also a team sport,” said Pearsall, who is a four time NCAA Division II champion between the one and three meter boards, which is tied for most ever in NCAA Division II men’s diving.

“We’re very much like a fam­ily. I still have teammates from high school that I am very close with, and we all see each other whenever we can, and we have gone to each other’s weddings, and those are just bonds that last a lifetime,” Pearsall said.

Having started off as a swim­mer, Pearsall made the transition to diving in the summer of his junior year of High School. What started out as just goofing around ended up being something that changed Pearsall’s life.

“I got into diving in high school, but it was really when I got to college that it took off,” said Pearsall, who was named the Clarion University of Pennsylva­nia Male Athlete of the Year in 2009. “Especially when I got to Clarion University because when I was at the University of Rhode Island, our program there wasn’t the greatest and it got to the point where I felt like I just couldn’t do it anymore.”

“My grades weren’t really that good, and I thought that I might have to quit, but I felt like if I did quit, I would not only quit diving but school overall. Transferring to Clarion University ended up being the best decision for me be­cause I was able to get it together again and really re-focus on my studies and get through it. The coaches there are fantastic, they kept encouraging, kept helping me to work hard and be the best athlete I could be,” Pearsall said.

The next meet for the Swim­ming and Diving Team will be Nov. 10 at Pace against Assump­tion College/Le Moyne College.