Coach Dave Rose Leads New Era of Peninsula Lacrosse

This isn’t an easy game to play. As long as you put the work in, it pays off.”

Dave Rose showed up at Pacific Lutheran University in the early 2000s chasing football glory. He left as a lacrosse coach in the making. 

Lacrosse, he said, simply “kind of fell in my lap.” What followed was a crash course in self-reinvention and the foundation of the philosophy he now brings as Peninsula Lacrosse’s new head coach.

“I’m a very competitive person, and I like to be successful at the things I do,” Rose said.

He had never played the sport before college. The PLU roster was small, the program raw, and Rose walked on during his sophomore year. Within two seasons, he was a starter, powered less by experience than drive.

“I spent that whole summer just trying to get my skills up to par with everybody else,” he said. “I would spend entire off-seasons shooting in my backyard or playing wall ball for hours.”

The learning curve didn’t scare him. It attracted him. Rose fell in love not just with lacrosse, but with the puzzle behind it.

“The coaching side for me was the chess piece of it,” he said. “I’m very much an X’s and O’s coach. I’m very much into scheme and player success.”

That mindset helped carry PLU into national relevance. By Rose’s senior year, the team climbed to No. 3 in the country and battled for a spot in the national tournament, a remarkable rise for a player who had picked up a stick only a few years earlier.

Now Rose is channeling that same self-taught drive into Peninsula’s program.

This spring marks his fifth season with the Seahawks, but his first as head coach. He inherits a team coming off a 3-8 season and the graduation of eight seniors, including All-Olympic-Puget League Division II selections Nate Gendreau, Thomas Gillam, and Davis Floor.

“We’re definitely a younger team,” Rose said.

Peninsula enters the season with just three seniors and three juniors, which is a reality that shapes both expectations and opportunity.

Rose isn’t chasing a quick fix. He’s building a system, leaning on returning players like senior Mason Dahlgren, juniors Asher Epstein and Grant Harris, and sophomores Max Ice and Brycen McAnally.

“The biggest difference is discipline on offense,” he said. “We’ll be running a quicker offense. If I can raise lacrosse IQ, I have a couple wrinkles I’ve wanted to install for years.”

His long-term plan extends well beyond the varsity sideline. Rose has worked to align Peninsula’s youth pipeline, so players are learning the same offensive concepts from elementary school onward.

“We’re identifying players for positions early instead of plugging gaps,” he said. “We’re teaching the same offensive system from fifth grade upward.”

The philosophy is rooted as much in balance as ambition. Having seen athletes burn out chasing year-round specialization, Rose encourages his players to stay multi-sport.

“I don’t expect everybody to be obsessed with lacrosse,” said Rose, who also works as a Tacoma police officer. 

That perspective mirrors his own path — football, basketball, and track athlete turned lacrosse convert — and reinforces a culture centered on development over shortcuts.

“This isn’t an easy game to play,” Rose said. “As long as you put the work in, it pays off.”

Peninsula opens the season at Roy Anderson Field March 20 against Orting. The rivalry highlight comes April 24, when the Seahawks play Gig Harbor in the annual Baggataway Bowl — a matchup honoring the shared origins of the two programs and the Native roots of the sport.

For Rose, the season is less about immediate results and more about identity.

“I’m trying to put Peninsula Lacrosse on the map,” he said. “I want statewide recognition and strong community support, so these boys feel backed when we’re on the road.”