Coaching Staff
Alex Avelar
Head Coach
Alex played forward during his youth playing career and followed that by playing on the Sacramento State University club soccer team. He graduated with a degree in Kinesiology - Exercise Science and Therapeutic Rehab. He works as an exercise specialist for cardiac rehab at John Muir. He began his coaching career with Alhambra High School and joined Eclipse in 2019 as an assistant coach. In 2020, he coached the Acalanes JV Girls to an undefeated season and was an assistant with the NCS champion varsity team. In Spring 2024, he was named as the head coach of the Acalanes Varsity Girls. He holds the La Liga Level 2 and 3, United Soccer Coaches 11v11 diploma, and several USSF licenses. This is his sixth year with Eclipse.
Alexi Anderson
Head Coach
Alexi joined the coaching staff this winter after many years of following the club through his friends, coaches Tarek and Riad. He was a standout player at Acalanes High School, including earning All-League and Team MVP honors. He continued playing during his time at UCSD through a mix of intramural leagues and adult leagues. He has also played with Bladium Rosal, played a year in Kreisliga B with BSC Eintracht Suedring in Berlin, Germany, and played five years in the SFSFL. He began his coaching career at Acalanes. His passion for soccer has also crossed over into his career, having spent 12 years working in soccer data and analytics for various organizations, including MLS, Liga MX, the Bundesliga, various college programs, and the USA and Germany national teams.
Amir Aliakbari
Head Coach
Amir grew up locally and spent his high school years playing in the early years of Eclipse. In addition, he played for Eclipse Executive Director Shane Carney for four years at Campolindo High School, winning multiple titles and earning All-League honors his junior and senior seasons. After high school, he pursued his playing career in Germany playing for FC Emmendingen. He has coached for Eclipse for four seasons in the past and returns to the staff having moved back into the area after completing his degree at UCSD.
Bennett Barnes
Head Coach
Bennett grew up in the Bay Area, playing club and school soccer in Piedmont. He continues to play recreationally through local futsal leagues and pick-up soccer games. He is a diehard fan of the sport and wants to share that passion through coaching. He is a true believer in our culture of promoting multi-sport athletes, as he also competes in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Prior to joining Eclipse, he has coached a variety of sports, including basketball, football, and baseball and has worked as a camp counselor. This is his first year with Eclipse after having a successful spring season coaching with us.
Brandon Thompson
Head Coach
Brandon grew up in Oakland where he was a star player for Bay Oaks Soccer Club (now East Bay United) and Montclair Clippers. He played recreationally during his time in college and has continued to do so to this day. He found his passion for youth soccer when he earned his first coaching license in 2014. He has nine total coaching licenses and certifications, including all four USSF Grassroots licenses, as well as Ajax's education program for Youth Academies. He plans on earning his USSF D license this year to continue his development as a coach. This is his eighth year as a coach with Eclipse and first year as Director of Programming. He also previously worked as a Coach Mentor for Eclipse.
Casey Fitzgerald
Head Coach
Casey grew up in the East Bay and spent 17 years of her youth playing soccer, including for local clubs Heritage and MPHFC. She spent five years coaching at MPHFC and joined the Eclipse staff in 2023, head coaching a successful season with our 2015 Girls. While at MPHFC, she also ran their club summer camp program and their tryouts. This will be Casey's second year with Eclipse.
Charlotte Fabo
Staff Assistant
Charlotte has played soccer since she was 5 years old and started playing at Eclipse when she was 10. She continues to play for Eclipse and is also the JV captain of Campolindo girls soccer. Charlotte began as a Coach in Training in 2021 and has gained three years of coach experience as a result. Her strong work there, including two Coach in Training of the Month honors, resulted in her being promoted to the assistant staff in 2023. She continues in this role in 2024.
Chris Jones
Head Coach
Chris grew up in England where he played throughout high school, collegiately at Salford University, and in various adult leagues. He began his coaching career in the United States as an assistant coach for the Washington and Lee University men's soccer team. He moved to the area when he began working as a math professor at Saint Mary's College. While at SMC, he founded both the men's and women's club soccer teams. He coached the women's team from 2009 to 2015 with their most memorable season coming in 2013 when they went undefeated with wins over Stanford and USC. He has been an assistant coach with the club for the past three seasons and moves into a head coaching role this year. He is also SMC's Faculty Athletics Representative and a member of the West Coast Conference Executive Council.
D’Angelo Morales
Head Coach
D’Angelo brings lots of playing experience to the staff. Growing up locally he played 11 years of club soccer at Heritage and PHMSA Elite and played all 4 years at Alhambra, earning a First Team All-League selection and an MVP award. He started his coaching career at Miramonte High School as an assistant coach with Coach Juan and Coach Taylor and began coaching with Eclipse in Spring 2023. He was on the coaching staff for Miramonte Girls Soccer's NCS winning team during the 2023-24 season. During his first season with Eclipse, he coached our 2010/11 Boys Solar team. This is his second year with Eclipse.
Evan Praznik
Head Coach
Evan grew up in the East Bay, playing his competitive youth soccer for San Ramon and Mustang. He was also a star player for San Ramon Valley High School. Following high school, his plans were to play for Dominican University, but an ACL tear at the end of his senior year changed those plans. He ended up playing for the club soccer teams at Gonzaga University, Saint Mary's College, and Denver University, and graduated with his BS in Personality Psychology from SMC and his MA in Forensic Psychology from Denver University. He has extensive experience working with youth through his background in clinical therapy. In addition to coaching soccer, he is also currently a Certified Pickleball Coach, working with both youth and adults. This is his first year with Eclipse.
Fernando Vargas
Head Coach
Fernando joined Eclipse for the 2021 season, although he already knew several of the coaches from his playing career. Fernando has been playing soccer since he was 5 years old and played youth club soccer for Heritage and Liga Latina. He was also a standout player at Alhambra High School. He has previously coached youth club soccer for three years at MPHFC. In addition to Eclipse, he is also a coach of the JV Boys team at Campolindo. He holds six coaching licenses, including the La Liga Level 2 and 3 and several USSF licenses. This is his fourth year coaching with Eclipse.
Hannah Walden
Head Coach
Hannah has played soccer for over 15 years, playing her youth soccer primarily for Walnut Creek SC and Northgate High School. She has most recently played two seasons in the Women's Premier Soccer League. She has spent the past few years coaching for Mt. Diablo Soccer Association. She has a BS in Kinesiology and is currently pursuing her master's in the same subject area. This is her first year coaching with Eclipse.
Henry Vanhouten
Staff Assistant
Henry has played soccer since he was four years old, beginning in New York. In 2018, his family moved to California and he began playing for Eclipse. In addition to Eclipse, he also played for Campolindo High School and still enjoys playing pick-up on the weekends. Watching his dad, Eclipse head coach Matt, coach for many years grew an interest and passion for getting into coaching. This is Henry's first year coaching for Eclipse.
Jesse Jobert
Head Coach
Jesse began playing soccer at age 5 and spent time playing youth club soccer at Montclair Soccer Club and Bay Oaks. He also played in the Olympic Development Program, California’s state team, and four years of varsity soccer. His interest in coaching began through conversations with his longtime friend, Eclipse coach Brandon Thompson. He holds seven total coaching licenses, including the USSF National D license. He returns for his third year with Eclipse after two successful seasons coaching our 2012 Boys.
Joel Drescher
Head Coach
Joel grew up in Oregon where he played club soccer for South Valley Forza. In high school, he was the conference scoring champion, a 1st Team All-Conference player, and was named to the 1st Team All-State. He continued his playing experience for Stanford University. He's also had a 16-year playing career in rugby at Stanford, Berkeley, Olympic Club, and USA select. His passion for soccer got him involved in coaching locally with LMYA since 2019. He started coaching with Eclipse in Spring 2023 and spent his first season head coaching our 2014 Girls. He holds the USSF 9v9 diploma. This is his second season with Eclipse.
Johnny Molina
Head Coach
Johnny enters his 10th year with Eclipse and 35th year of coaching. Prior to Eclipse, Johnny coached at MDSA, DVSC, DFC, and Heritage Soccer Club. He also coached the varsity girls at Clayton Valley High School where he led them to a BVAL title. He played at the Private University of Nicaragua. Johnny’s coaching diplomas include several from United Soccer Coaches, the USSF National D license, the La Liga Level 2 and 3 diplomas, and four from Fiorentina. He also spent three years as our U11-U14 Boys Director.
Jose Diaz Mercado
Head Coach
Jose has been a club director since 2021. Jose was a three-year varsity soccer captain for Alhambra High School. During his time there, he was named to the All-DVAL First Team in 2015-16. He also played club soccer locally for 12 years. He began his coaching career running soccer camps and clinics for his church. He ran the Campolindo High School Boys Soccer Program for a season and spent two additional seasons coaching their JV team and assistant coaching varsity. He is currently a varsity assistant and program goalkeeper coach for the Acalanes Girls. He holds the USSF D License and is currently pursuing his C license. In addition, he has more than 10 licenses from organizations including USSF, United Soccer Coaches, La Liga and TOVO. Outside of the soccer world, he worked for Las Lomas High School as a Campus Supervisor. This is his sixth year with Eclipse.
Jose Luis Diaz
Head Coach
After years of coaching local teams against Eclipse, Jose joined our sideline for the first time in 2019. Jose has been coaching for ten years with experience with Deportivo Oakland, Real Oakland, and the BullDogs Brazil Soccer Club. At BullDogs, he served as club vice president in addition to his head coaching responsibilities. In addition to club coaching, he worked as a teacher and academic mentor and ran the soccer program for ASCEND Sunset Warriors. He holds the United Soccer Coaches National Diploma, USSF National D license, all USSF Grassroots licenses, and several additional United Soccer Coaches diplomas. This is his sixth year with Eclipse.
Jossy Grilli Smith
Staff Assistant
Jossy began playing for Eclipse in our second year of existence working her way up from Future Eclipse into our club teams. Her interest in coaching led her into our Coaches in Training Program where she was extremely successful. She was named our Coach in Training of the month multiple times for her work with our Future Eclipse group and was promoted to a staff position of Assistant Coach in 2021. This will be her fourth year as a club assistant.
Juan Perri
Head Coach
Juan joined Eclipse for his first year as a head coach in 2021. He grew up playing soccer in Venezuela before moving to Italy for soccer and academics. He moved to California to attend UC Berkeley. During his time there, he played on Cal’s club soccer team for four years and helped lead them to a title at the national championships. He spent four years coaching youth soccer at a club in Berkeley, spending three years coaching a girls team from U9 to U11 and an additional year with a new U9 Girls group. He holds several USSF coaching licenses. This is his fourth year with Eclipse.
Juan Vargas
Head Coach
Juan is a soccer fanatic who enjoys the sport any chance he gets. He started playing as a child and has played his entire life - still competing in adult leagues around the Bay Area. He got into coaching with a team in Martinez, but after hearing about Eclipse from his cousin, Coach Fernando, he wanted to join the Eclipse Family. In his first year, he coached our 2014 Boys. Last year he added coaching our Future Eclipse 2016 Boys as well. This is his third year with Eclipse.
Kaci Trujillo
Head Coach
Kaci began playing soccer at the age of 4 and competed at high levels of club soccer for DFC and Mustang ECNL. While a student at Clayton Valley Charter High School, she was a varsity captain for 3 years, was named to the DVAL Second Team, DVAL First Team, and was the league's Offensive MVP. After graduating high school in 2017, she continued her playing career at Solano Community College and Diablo Valley College, including being a captain for DVC. She began her coaching career with the organization Kidz Love Soccer. She graduated from Stan State with a degree in Exercise Science. In her first year with Eclipse, she was a regular assistant coach and eventually joined our 2015 Girls as a co-coach. In addition to coaching for Eclipse, Kaci is also the JV Girls head coach at Campolindo and an assistant coach for the DVC Women's Soccer team. This is her second year with Eclipse.
Kaj Simonsen
Head Coach
Kaj joined our Eclipse coaching staff for the 2022-23 Winter Program and worked with various groups. He grew up in Lafayette and played club soccer for Lamorinda, Walnut Creek, and DFC. While playing varsity soccer for Acalanes, he was a key contributor to their undefeated league champion team his junior year and was named the league’s Offensive MVP his senior year. Prior to Eclipse, he worked as an assistant coach at Lamorinda and spent several summers working camps and clinics for America Scores and Gino’s Soccer Camps. He is also a certified referee. He graduated with a degree in Sport Management from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and is excited to pursue his passion of developing youth through sport. He holds the USSF 9v9 diploma. This is his second year with Eclipse.
Keith Klohn
Staff Assistant
Keith began his coaching career with Eclipse in 2021 as an assistant coach for the 2013 Lunar Boys team and has spent three years working with that group. In addition to coaching, he is a certified referee. He played college soccer for Texas A&M University (1989-1993).
Kevin McClure
Head Coach
Kevin grew up in Pennsylvania and spent his youth playing soccer at the highest levels. He was a 6 year member of his state and Region 1 Olympic Development programs, an All State and Regional All American high school player, and a 4-year player at Division 1 Bucknell University. His passion for the sport was reignited as a three year coach for LMYA. He holds several USSF licenses and the La Liga Level 3. This will be his fourth year coaching with Eclipse after having coached our 2013 Lunar Boys for the past three seasons and spending some time coaching at Future Eclipse as well.
Lisel Welden
Head Coach
Lisel joined Eclipse’s coaching staff during our 2021-22 Winter Program, working with the 2012 Girls. She played at Ransom Everglades High School in Miami where she was a 4-year varsity player, team captain, and earned All-City honors twice. She went on to play for two years at Williams College. Growing up without much opportunity for organized soccer (her mom often signed her up for ballet), she often found her way to fields to play with and against local boys. Eventually she began playing on her first team with girls in middle school. Being a soccer player was one of the most formative experiences of her life, so she wants to support young girls on their journeys. Lisel holds five USSF coaching licenses, including the National C license, and three from United Soccer Coaches. This is her third year coaching with Eclipse.
Matt Vanhouten
Head Coach
Matt grew up in Western New York where he played club soccer and high school soccer for Wayne Central. He continues to play in local adult leagues, including with Orinda FC, the winners of the 2018 Bower Cup. He has coached soccer for over ten seasons at the club and recreational levels, including a four-year stint with the Pittsford Hawks Soccer Club. He has also served youth locally as a Cub Scout Den Leader and Assistant Scoutmaster with Troop 234 in Moraga. This is his seventh year as a coach with Eclipse.
Maya Carrasco
Staff Assistant
Maya began playing soccer at age 5 and has played for Eclipse for 11 seasons. In addition to Eclipse, she is also a varsity player at Campolindo High School. During her sophomore year at Campolindo, she was a JV team captain and earned the leadership award. She began her coaching career in our Coaches in Training Program where she excelled working with our Future Eclipse Boys. After two years in the CIT Program, she was promoted to our assistant coaching staff last winter. She was recently named a winner of the club's 2024 Coach CoCo Spirit Award and Scholarship. This will be her second year as a staff assistant.
Meysam Mohajeri
Head Coach
Meysam grew up in Iran where he grew to love soccer through playing and coaching. In 2001, he came to the United States and continued his playing and coaching in the Philadelphia area. From 2020-2022, he returned to Iran and coached youth soccer there. He has coached all ages of boys, girls, and adults from 7 years old up to 55 years old and is excited to get to continue to coach youth players with Eclipse. He began coaching for Eclipse in Spring 2023 and had a very successful first season coaching our 2015 Boys and our 2017-19 Future Eclipse Boys. This is his second year with Eclipse.
Mia Hernandez
Staff Assistant
Mia has been playing soccer since she was 5 years old and has played for various competitive teams, including Deportivo Oakland Juniors, Barbies, North Stars, Barcelona, and most recently Eclipse. She has been a top player and goal scorer on her Eclipse teams. Her goal-scoring success carried over to her high school play where she was MVP of her high school league. In other words, she's the "Queen of Goals!" She started coaching with her local middle school team as a freshman in high school and has continued since. She joined the Eclipse coaching staff in 2023. This is her second year coaching with the club.
Naod Habte
Staff Assistant
Naod has played soccer since he was six years old. During his youth, he played for Bay Oaks/East Bay United and Berkeley High School. Prior to Eclipse, he has coached at Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School where he coaches the school's varsity boys and girls teams. In their first season under his guidance, the boys were undefeated league champions and the girls finished in second place. This is first year with Eclipse.
Newt Lloyd
Staff Assistant
Newt is one of our longest-tenured Eclipse players of all-time, having started in the Future Eclipse Program in 2012 and still playing on our 2007 Girls team this season! Newt started in the Coaches in Training Program during Winter 2022 and served in the program throughout the spring, summer, and fall of 2023, including earning a Coach in Training of the Month honor. At the conclusion of fall 2023, Newt was promoted to club staff and will continue in that role through the 2024 season.
Peter Bonfanti
Staff Assistant
Despite not having played soccer in high school or college, Peter Bonfanti was asked to be the assistant coach of a girls' team at his first full-time teaching job, back in 1993. He soon discovered that he loved coaching just as much as teaching math, and has been doing both continuously since. He's currently the head coach of both the Athenian JV boys' team and the Acalanes freshman/sophomore girls' team, and is thrilled to continue his coaching journey in his third year with Eclipse.
Peter Yu
Futures Coach, Staff Assistant
Peter is in his eighth season with Eclipse. In addition to coaching at Eclipse, Peter has been a coach with the Hayward High School girls program for four years and Futbol Base (U8-U12 Program) for three years. He has 23 total coaching licenses (yes, 23!), including all USSF Grassroots licenses, La Liga Level 2 and 3, and United Soccer Coaches Pre-National. He is also a player/coach for an adult team at Bladium.
Piotr Zarzycki
Head Coach
Piotr grew up playing soccer in Poland throughout his childhood. He was a member of the Polish National Olympic Team in Taekwondo, finishing fifth at the World Junior Taekwondo Championship in Barcelona, Spain. He also compiled two gold, two silver, and four bronze medals in Polish National Championships and Poland Cups. He began his coaching journey in Taekwondo, but his love for soccer and his soccer-playing son have brought him back to the sport. He holds 13 coaching licenses, including all USSF Grassroots licenses, La Liga Level 3, USSF National C license, and a diploma from the Barça Coach Academy. He is also a certified US Soccer referee. This is his third year with Eclipse.
Raul Arana
Head Coach
Raul has been playing soccer consistently since the age of 3. He competed locally during his youth for Diablo FC and Diablo Valley Wolves. He is a graduate of Ygnacio Valley High School. He has recently been invited to train in camps with the Mexican professional team Toluca where his cousin plays. He is excited to transition his love for the game into coaching to help young players develop the same passion for the game he has. This is his first year with Eclipse.
Riad Alameddine
Staff Assistant
Riad is in his sixth year with Eclipse. He played competitive soccer from 8 to 19 years old, including being a club teammate of Eclipse Director Shane Carney. He was a league champion and NCS finalist during his time playing for Acalanes and later participated in pre-training at the collegiate level. He has been a lifelong multi-sport athlete, including winning several national Tae Kwon Do tournaments and finishing fourth in the Junior Olympics. He began his coaching career with Fit Kids America, providing after-school training to elementary school children in the Bay Area. He also has five years experience in health care. He holds several licenses from USSF and United Soccer Coaches.
Tarek Alameddine
Staff Assistant
Tarek enters his 13th season with Eclipse. In addition to Eclipse, he has also served as an assistant coach with the boys soccer program at Acalanes. As a player, Tarek earned DFAL Offensive MVP honors with Acalanes and later played at the University of Santa Cruz. In addition to coaching, Tarek works as a certified fitness trainer and brings this experience and knowledge to Eclipse. He holds the National Diploma from United Soccer Coaches and all USSF Grassroots licenses. He also spent three years as our U15-U18 Boys Director.
Taylor Abbott
Head Coach
Taylor played high school soccer under Eclipse Director Shane Carney at Campolindo from 2009-2012. He coached for Eclipse for five years (including its inaugural year) and even played a year with the U19 Eclipse Men's team. He left the club to study Architecture at the University of Southern California for 5 years and returned to the Bay Area after getting a new job in Pleasanton. While in Los Angeles, Taylor stayed active playing in adult and intramural college divisions. He returned to the sidelines with Eclipse in 2021. In addition to coaching for Eclipse, he is the head varsity coach for the Miramonte Girls Soccer Program and has coached the team to a league title and and NCS title in his first two seasons. He is in his fourth year in a row with the club and ninth year overall.
Interested in Coaching for Eclipse? If you are an experienced coach who believes in the Eclipse philosophy, send your resume and statement of interest to eclipse@eastbayeclipse.com.