Did you grow up playing soccer? 

I grew up in Concord in the East Bay and started playing AYSO and Winter Select there.  When I was 13, I moved to club soccer at Mt. Diablo Soccer Club and played high school soccer at Clayton Valley High School where I ultimately captained the team. After high school, I played 2 years at Los Medanos College before hanging up my cleats to study chemistry at UC Davis and then later Caltech. As an adult, I continued to play soccer throughout graduate school and later on teams with friends I met through work.

Why did you want to coach?  

Soccer has been a life skill for me. As I have moved around in my life, I have been able to meet and make friends through soccer. I’ve played pickup games on grass, beaches and in gyms across Europe, Asia and Central America.  I’ve played to the sound of drums at 9am on many mornings in Golden Gate Park. I hope to pass on the love for this international sport to the players I coach.

What is your favorite part of being a soccer coach at HMBSC?

Working with players that love to play soccer and seeing the smile on their faces when they surprise themselves with what they can do on the field.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not on the field?

My wife and I have 4 sons, ages 4-14 and they keep us very busy.  My family enjoys skiing, kayaking, fishing, biking and hiking, but my work days are spent designing molecules for the treatment of a variety of diseases such as cancer, osteoarthritis and kidney disease. My Ph.D. work was recently cited as part of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

What lesson do you hope to instill in all of your players?

I hope that our players realize that they can accomplish anything when they work hard at doing something they love.

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