Coaching Staff
Alex Avelar
2008 Girls Lunar, 2008 Girls Solar
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. He continues to work as a coach on the Acalanes Girls staff. He holds the La Liga Level 3 and United Soccer Coaches 11v11 diplomas. This is his fifth year with Eclipse.
Ariel Ramirez
Staff Assistant
Ariel was part of the first-ever graduating class of girls from Eclipse. She played for Eclipse for our first three seasons, while attending Miramonte High School. She graduated from UC Davis with a degree in Biological Sciences and is currently furthering her education to be a Physician Assistant. She is trained as an EMT and has worked for the UC Davis Fire Department. She has five years of coaching experience with Eclipse and is currently on our Board of Directors.
Brandon Thompson
2010 Boys
Brandon grew up in Oakland where he was a star player for Bay Oaks Soccer Club (now East Bay United). He played recreationally during his time in college and has continued to foster his passion for the game of soccer through coaching. He earned his first coaching license in 2014 and has continued his education with eight total coaching licenses, including all four USSF Grassroots licenses. This is his seventh year with Eclipse.
Casey Fitzgerald
2015 Girls Red
Casey grew up in the East Bay and spent 17 years of her youth playing soccer, including for local clubs Heritage and MPHFC. She has spent the past five years coaching at MPHFC and is excited to continue her coaching career with Eclipse. While at MPHFC, she also ran their club summer camp program and their tryouts. This will be Casey's first year with Eclipse.
D’Angelo Morales
2011 Boys Solar
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 this spring. He is looking forward to furthering his coaching education and development with Eclipse.
Fernando Vargas
2007 Girls, 2010 Girls Lunar
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 Freshman Boys team at Campolindo. He holds five coaching licenses, including the La Liga Level 3. This is his third year coaching with Eclipse.
Jesse Jobert
2012 Boys Solar Red and Black
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 returns for his second year with Eclipse after a successful 2022 coaching our 2012 Solar Red Boys team.
Joel Drescher
2014 Girls Red
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 this spring.
Johnny Molina
2013 Girls Lunar, 2014 Boys Red
Johnny enters his ninth year with Eclipse and 34th 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 La Liga Level 3 diploma, and four from Fiorentina. He also spent three years as our U11-U14 Boys Director.
Jonathan Kramer-Roach
Staff Assistant
Jonathan grew up in Massachusetts where he played his youth soccer for FC Stars. He was a varsity player and captain for Cambridge Rindge & Latin High School. While in the Boston area, he managed Microsoccer, a soccer program for players ages 4-6. He currently is the Programs & Operations Manager for Global Glimpse, a Bay Area based nonprofit that provides scholarships to high school students to participate in international education programs in Latin America. This is his second year with Eclipse.
Jose Luis Diaz
2005-07 Boys, 2008 Boys
After years of coaching local teams against Eclipse, Jose joined our sideline for the first time in 2019. Jose has been coaching for nine 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 all USSF Grassroots licenses, several United Soccer Coaches diplomas, and is currently pursuing his National Diploma. This is his fifth 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. During 2022, she began her transition into a lead role with our Future Eclipse Program.
Juan Perri
2012 Girls Lunar
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 third year with Eclipse.
Juan Sanchez
2005-06 Girls, 2011 Boys Lunar
Juan returns for his fifth year with Eclipse. He has been playing soccer since he was four and began playing at the club level at the age of 12. He was a four-year varsity player at Alhambra High School and was their captain for three years. During those four years, he was named Second Team All-League twice and First Team All-League twice. He played collegiately at CCC and at the semi-pro level for San Ramon. He started his coaching career as an assistant for two years at Alhambra High School before becoming their head JV coach. He ran the Campolindo Boys Program with Coach Jose for a season, coached with the Acalanes Girls Program the past two seasons, and is currently the JV Girls coach at Miramonte. He holds all USSF Grassroots licenses, La Liga Level 3, and United Soccer Coaches Pre-National.
Juan Vargas
2014 Boys Black, 2016 Boys
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. This will be his second year with Eclipse after a memorable first year coaching our 2014 Boys Black team.
Kaci Trujillo
Staff Assistant
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 and is excited to get started with Eclipse where she is friends with many of our staff coaches already. She graduates from Stan State this spring with a degree in Exercise Science.
Kaj Simonsen
2012 Boys Black, 2014 Girls Black
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 and began refereeing for Eclipse this past fall. 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.
Keith Klohn
2013 Boys Assistant
Keith began his coaching career with Eclipse in 2021 as an assistant coach for the 2013 Lunar Boys team. He’s excited to continue working with the same group. In addition to coaching, he is a certified referee. He played college soccer for Texas A&M University (1989-1993).
Kelbe Agbor
Staff Assistant
Kelbe grew up in Cameroon before coming to the United States in 2006. He attended City College of San Francisco and San Francisco State University. During his time at CCSF, he was named as the top defensive midfielder in the area. He continued his playing career at the semiprofessional level, including for the Oakland Stompers. He has always enjoyed giving back to young soccer players and is excited to formalize that through coaching at Eclipse.
Kevin McClure
2013 Boys Lunar
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 third year coaching with Eclipse after having coached our 2013 Lunar Boys for the past two seasons and spending some time coaching at Future Eclipse as well.
Koby Wilburn
Staff Assistant
Koby grew up in Washington where he spent 8 years playing club soccer at the premier level for XiFa and Spokane Shadow. He was also a 4-year varsity player for Mead High School in Spokane, Washington. He began his coaching career with Spokane Shadow where he worked for four years as an assistant coach. He also spent a year as an assistant coach at Mead High School. He started coaching with Eclipse this spring.
Lisel Welden
2012 Girls Solar Red
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 D license, and three from United Soccer Coaches. This is her second year coaching with Eclipse.
Luis Mendez
2015 Boys Black
Luis joined the Eclipse staff for the 2022-23 Winter Program and immediately made an impact. He was born in El Salvador and has played soccer competitively since moving to the United States. He grew up playing club soccer in San Pablo and excelled for Richmond High School. He briefly played semi-pro soccer until injuries turned his focus more to coaching. Prior to Eclipse, he spent time coaching for San Pablo United.
Matt Vanhouten
2013 Girls Solar, 2016 Girls, 2017-19 Girls
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 sixth 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 this winter.
Meysam Mohajeri
2015 Boys Red, 2017-19 Boys
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 coach youth players with Eclipse. He began coaching for Eclipse this spring.
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 joins the Eclipse coaching staff for the first time this year.
Michael Chaffin
2013 Boys Assistant
Michael began his coaching career with Eclipse in 2021 as an assistant coach for the 2013 Lunar Boys team. He’s excited to continue working with the same group in 2023. He has previously coached club teams in Texas from U10 up to U19. He coached the Midwestern State University’s Women’s Soccer team in the late 1990s. He grew up playing club soccer in Dallas and also competed on the North Texas State Olympic Development Program team. He played collegiately at Midwestern State University, qualifying for the National Tournament all four years and reaching a #2 national ranking. After college, he played in the USISL for the San Antonio Pumas and Austin Lonestars and in the San Francisco Premier League.
Omar Rodriguez
Staff Assistant
Omar enters his eighth year with Eclipse. As a youth player he played for SACYSL, spent four seasons in the ODP Program and three on the Northern California State Select Team. In high school he earned 4-time All-League and 3-time All-NCS honors at Moreau Catholic. He went on to play college soccer at Cal State Hayward and Arizona State. He also played with semi-pro teams in Phoenix and San Jose. Omar has 10+ years of coaching experience, starting as an assistant at SACYSL and Hayward Soccer Clubs, also becoming head coach at Moreau Catholic. He has continued his coaching career locally with OYA, Lamorinda SC, and for Campolindo in 2017. He holds several coaching licenses from United Soccer Coaches and TOVO Academy. He has also served our soccer community as a Board Member for Lamorinda SC, running Magic’s ID Summer Camps, and founding the Futsal Program for the city of Orinda.
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 second year with Eclipse.
Peter Yu
2011 Girls, 2015 Girls Black
Peter is in his seventh season with Eclipse and sixth as a head coach. 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 3, and United Soccer Coaches Pre-National. He is also a player/coach for an adult team at Bladium.
Piotr Zarzycki
2013 Boys Solar
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 D license, and a diploma from the Barça Coach Academy. He is also a certified US Soccer referee.
Raymond Strychacz
Staff Assistant
Raymond grew up playing club soccer at a high level for Benicia Arsenal. He also competed at Benicia High School where he earned Team MVP honors. He has coached at various soccer camps and in assistant coaching roles for competitive teams. He has also spent four years working with kids and teaching them various games at a vacation bible school. This is his second year with Eclipse.
Riad Alameddine
2012 Boys Lunar
Riad is in his fifth 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.
Tarek Alameddine
2009 Boys
Tarek enters his 12th 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. He also spent three years as our U15-U18 Boys Director.
Taylor Abbott
2009 Girls, 2012 Girls Solar Black
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, coaching our 2009 Girls, and is entering his third year in a row with the club and eighth 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.