Attack Coaching Staff

Rancho Santa Fe Attack Coaches are some of the most experienced coaches in San Diego.  Click on any of the images to view contact information and bio. 

Malcolm Tovey

Director of Coaching
Contact: 858-735-3654
malcolmtovey@mac.com

Malcolm joined the Rancho Santa Fe Youth Soccer organization in 1997 as the Director of Coaching. He is one of the most well-known and respected soccer coaches in southern California. In his youth he played internationally for England on the U19 team. He came to the US in the early 80′s on a soccer scholarship at SDSU where he earned his BA degree with a double major in Social Studies and Physical Education. He has his California teaching credential and also holds a lifetime teaching credential from Keele University, England, in the same subjects. He also holds a National USSF “A” level coaching license.

Coach Tovey brought his winning formula to Rancho after 13 years at the Surf Soccer Club. During his career he has coached teams that have won State and National Championships, as well as major tournaments that include Surf Cup, Nomads Invitational, Huntington Beach, Pleasanton and many more. He has also been successful, through his network of connections, to place players in colleges such as Yale, Dartmouth, UCSD, Naval Academy, Fullerton, SDSU, UC Santa Cruz, Point Loma Nazarene, UC Davis, Sonoma State, and the Mexican National Team.

He is currently the Physical Education teacher at the Nativity School in Rancho Santa Fe. Malcolm will happily tell anyone, “I am coaching youth soccer because it is the most fun, challenging and rewarding job in the world.”

Nate Hetherington

Assistant Director of Coaching
Contact: 760-271-2635
natehetherington@yahoo.com

Coach Hetherington has been with Attack since 2000, bringing with him many years of coaching experience gained at the club and high school levels. He played professional soccer for 8 years with the San Diego Flash, Atlanta Silverbacks and with the San Diego Sockers.  As a player he received a number of honors including MVP, Playmaker of the Year, Fan Favorite and the Fair Play Award.  Nate has his USSF National “A” Coaching license and is currently the Assistant Director of Coaching.  Nate is also the Boys Varsity Soccer Coach at Cathedral Catholic High School and was awarded the CIF Coach of the Year in 2016. 

Nate’s goal is to help players achieve their full potential as soccer players by creating a challenging, supportive and positive experience for the athlete. He likes to encourage team building, sportsmanship, confidence, commitment and athleticism in his players.

Michael D’Arrigo

Director of Goalkeeping
Contact:  520.444.9647 
darrigogk@gmail.com
 
Coach D’Arrigo has 17+ years of soccer experience. He played for the University of San Diego (NCAA D1) and then professionally for the New England Revolution (MLS) and Arizona United (now Phoenix Rising - USL Pro).  As a youth, Michael won several state, regional, and national championships with Real Salt Lake, Cisco SC, Catalina Foothills HS and the U18 USMNT.  He has coached for Paradise Valley Community College, FC Tucson (PDL), Phoenix Rush, San Diego Soccer Club and Scripps Ranch Soccer Club. His favorite memory of playing is when he was able to represent his country playing in the World Championships in Madrid, Spain.
 
Michael holds a National “B” license and is currently working on his National “C”.  In addition to coaching for Attack, he is an assistant coach for the UCSD Men’s Soccer team and the JV Coach at Cathedral Catholic High School.. His goal as a coach is to sharpen and hone players skill sets to best prepare them for their next level of competition.

Fernando Cuenca

Contact: 858-353-0147
pacificblooms@ymail.com
 
Coach Fernando has coached youth soccer at all ages for more than 20 years with Notts Forest and DMCV Sharks, as well as High School soccer at CCA and Rancho Buenvista High, before coming to Attack.   He grew up in Mexico where he played soccer at Liga Espanyola in Mexico City and then in the minor league for Club America.  He just recently earned his National “C” license and is looking forward to continuing to improve his coaching skills and acquiring the next level licensing.
 
Fernando will running our Rec Skills Clinics on Wednesdays and coaching a competitive team for the Club.

Greg LaPorte

Coach LaPorte joined the Attack coaching staff in 2021.  He currently holds a USSF National “A” with over 12 years of experience in coaching at the club and collegiate level.  He is currently the Assistant Coach for the UCSD Women’s soccer team and was Associate Head Coach for Women’s Soccer at USD from 2011 to 2016.  Greg played at Vanderbilt College where he was Captain and has since played in England, Europe and Brazil. 

Greg’s knowledge of the game and his communication skills allow him to motivate and empower athletes to achieve their best potential and foster individual and team success.  His training sessions are planned and conducted to develop general fitness and improve both the team and the individual player’s competency level of soccer. 

Greg Regan

Bio Coming Soon

Enrique "Jesse" Gonzalez

Coach Gonzalez joined the Attack coaching staff in 2022.  He currently holds a USSF National “B” license with more than 15 years of coaching experience at the college, club, and high school level.  He is currently the Boys JV Coach at Cathedral Catholic High School.  Jesse played college soccer at Cal State University San Bernardino and had a professional playing career in the Mexican First Division and in the NPSL with the Idaho Wolves.  

Jesse’s coaching philosophy is to create a fun, challenging environment and the players will respond accordingly.  He believes that at the intersection of fun and development is where the best coaching occurs.  Players want to be taught the game from the perspective of enjoyment while feeling challenged.

Jonathan Sabouri

Coach Jonathan started coaching with Attack in 2021.  Prior to that he played with Attack for 10 years and continued his career at the collegiate level at UCSD where he was a starter all four years.  After a short experience playing professionally in Sweden, he returned to San Diego to begin his professional coaching career.  Jonathan is energetic and highly knowledgeable about the sport and has several years of experience coaching and mentoring kids of this age.

Jonathan’s philosophy for the players and his teams is to make sure that each player learns the fundamentals of soccer – including sportsmanship, competitiveness, and basic soccer skills.  His goal for each player is to achieve their fullest potential as a soccer player, both individually and as a team member.  To achieve these goals, he plans challenging and engaging training sessions that require effort for the players with an emphasis on positive reinforcement and player development.

Luca Pacelli

Coach Pacelli has been coaching for 20+ years and currently holds a National “D” license.  He coached with the DMCV Sharks and has been a back-up coach for Attack over the last 10 years filling in as needed to cover practices and games. 

Luca enjoys working with the younger players where his focus is on teaching the skills required to be a successful player.  His practices incorporate drills that work on developing those skills along with teaching the tactics needed for teams to be successful.

Mike Demko

Bio Coming Soon

Mike Jones

Contact: 760-845-7777
coachmike7777@gmail.com

Coach Jones came to Attack in 2008.  Prior to coaching with Attack he was with the Encinitas Express.  He is currently the Head Soccer Coach for Horizon Prep and he has also served as a coach for La Costa Canyon High School girls’ JV & Freshman teams.   Coach Mike is a highly professional and dedicated Coach with over 25 years of providing specialized and quality soccer instruction. He holds a USSF “D” license.

Mike’s goal is for each player to achieve their fullest potential as a soccer player, individually and as a team member. He likes to encourage family participation, team building and sportsmanship. He does this by leading challenging and engaging training sessions that require effort with an emphasis on positive reinforcement.

Shea Travis

Coach Travis joined the Attack coaching staff in 2022.  He comes to Attack with more than 18 years of coaching experience with the Sharks and Murrieta Surf where he coached mostly boys teams.  Shea played club soccer in Michigan where his team won 3 State Championships.  He played at the college level at UCLA and was on the 1997 National Championship team.  He played professionally in both the Netherlands and Sweden, then returned to the US to play for the Detroit Dynamite, SD Gauchos and SD Fusion.

Shea believes that complete player development, while focusing on technical proficiency, mental conditioning, and diverse tactical understanding, is best learned in games and game-like training.   His belief is that players will thrive in a healthy learning environment where they are exposed to many positions and responsibilities and are given room to make decisions and allowed to express themselves with their role on the team.

Warren Jacobs

Contact: 760-994-9940
sokrokr@sbcglobal.net

Coach Jacobs started with Attack in 2007 and has coached many successful, quality teams and players in his time here.  Warren is a high school chemistry teacher and boasts of 30 years of coaching at the club and high school level.  He holds his National “B” coaching license.  His playing experience includes UCSD and the Surf Men’s Premier team. 

Coach Jacob’s stated philosophy is, “Soccer if fun. Playing better is more fun. Playing well and winning is the most fun.” His goals for his players are to love the game, want to play again, to enjoy their teammates and to get better. Warren works with his players to develop healthy relationships, train in a disciplined way, respect their teammates and authorities, and learn how to become successful.