Joel Perez is in his first year on head coach Innocent Egbunike's staff as a men's and women's cross country assistant coach.

Perez began coaching men's and women's track and field 800 meters and 5,000 meter racers earlier this year.

From 2018-2022, he was an assistant cross country and track and field coach at his alma mater at Long Beach Wilson High. Working with the boys varsity his last two years, he developed three Top 15 racers in the Moore League finals as well as CIF Prelims.

He began his assistant coaching career at Paramount High from 2014-2016. He was also a volunteer assistant at Cal State Stanislaus in 2017. 

Perez is a product of California Community Colleges as he raced on the 2012 Cerritos College men's cross country and men's track and field. He later transferred to CSU Stanisluas and competed in cross country and in track in the 1,500, 3,000 steeplechase and 5,000 meter events on the 2015-16 teams.

He earned a bachelor's in Kinesiology-physical education at Stanislaus and then his master's in Kinesiology-coaching and student-athlete development at Cal State Long Beach.