Our Staff
Brandon Thompson - Director of Programming 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. He will use his extensive experience as an Eclipse coach to plan, run, and improve upon all of the various programs Eclipse offers to our players.
Jess Grilli - General Manager Jess Grilli has spent two years as our Club Administrator and was promoted to General Manager based on her overwhelming success. She provides logistical and administrative support throughout the club's operations, oversees and supports our team managers and directly engages with our club families. She has been involved with Eclipse since 2011 when her daughter joined the club in the Future Eclipse program. Jess has four children actively involved in youth sports, all of whom have grown up playing soccer for Eclipse. Prior to joining us, she had extensive experience in Operations Management and Client Services, as well as, sat on the Orinda Baseball Association board from 2017-21. Jess has been a team manager for over a decade and has actively served on the Eclipse board since Fall 2019.
John Nakanishi - Director of Coaching John Nakanishi is in his tenth year with Eclipse and 21st year of coaching. He was hired as the club’s Director of Coaching in November 2022. In addition to Eclipse, John has coached at PHMSA, Walnut Creek Soccer Club, Heritage Soccer Club, and College Park High School. He also coached the Hayward High School varsity girls who he led to their first league title in 34 years. John holds multiple high-level coaching diplomas, including the United Soccer Coaches Director of Coaching Diploma, National Diploma and 11v11 Diploma, AYSO National Certificate, and goalkeeping coaching diplomas from United Soccer Coaches and CYSA. He has five years previous experience as a coach instructor/administrator and was our U11-U14 Girls Director for three years.
Jose Diaz Mercado - Director of Support Jose Diaz Mercado has been a club director since 2021. He works seamlessly with every facet of the club's staff and players to ensure the club's operations continue to run smoothly and constantly improve. 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, 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.
Shane Carney - Executive Director (Complete Bio for Shane) Shane founded Eclipse in 2010 and has been the director since its inception. He has 24 years experience coaching youth club soccer players and has received more than 80 certifications in the areas of coaching soccer, child development, and player safety. He coached the Varsity Boys Soccer team at Campolindo for nine total years, where he won more titles than the program had in its previous 40+ years combined. He grew up in Lafayette and attended Burton Valley, Stanley and Campolindo.
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 director@eastbayeclipse.com.