Directory

Guido has been actively involved in the game of soccer at all levels for over 45 years and has volunteered as a coach, board member, and Club President at Cliff Avenue United FC from 2008 to 2023.  Some of Guido’s many accomplishments include playing professionally for the Vancouver 86ers from 1987-1994 and for the Canadian National Teams (U16, U19, U23, & Men’s) from 1985-1993.  He also received the City of Burnaby’s Male Athlete of the Year Award in 1988, was inducted into the BC Sports Hall of Fame in 2004 with the 86ers team and was presented with BC Soccer’s A.C. Sanford Award in 2020.  He continues to play competitive men’s soccer in the O45 Premier Division of the VMSL for Columbus FC.  Outside of soccer Guido has worked for BMO Bank of Montreal for over 30 years, and is currently in a Vice President, Business Banking role with BMO.  Born and raised in the City of Burnaby, Guido continues to reside in Burnaby with his wife and two boys.

A passion for the game and player development, Mario has spent his entire life in the game, as a player, coach, and administrator, most recently As President of Mountain United FC. His playing career began with clubs in East Vancouver, SFU, and culminated with the Vancouver 86ers of the CSL in the 1990s. Mario continues to coach and give the back to the beautiful game that impacts all of us. Professionally, Mario is a partner at Axis Insurance Inc. providing risk advice and insurance to medium and large corporations.

Richard is a senior executive with extensive experience in corporate development, capital markets, risk management, financial reporting and control, operational management, strategic planning and leading change in multiple industries, including mining, telecom and automotive. He was the former Chief Financial Officer of Westport Fuel Systems Inc., a global clean technology company in the automotive sector Prior to joining Westport Fuel Systems, he served as Senior Vice President, Treasurer of Goldcorp, Inc., a former NYSE and TSX listed senior gold producer, where he was responsible for financing the company’s strategic and operating objectives and managing risk exposure. Previously, he also held roles as Senior Vice President, Controller and Vice President, Internal Audit. Prior to Goldcorp, Richard served as Vice President, Finance at BCE Inc., Canada’s largest communications company, where he led the financial management of various operating divisions during a period of significant change in the industry.

Richard has been involved in youth football in Burnaby for past 12 years serving on the Boards of Cliff Avenue United FC (“CAUFC”) and Mountain United FC, and coaching boys and girls teams at CAUFC. He most recently was the Vice President and Treasurer of CAUFC prior to the amalgamation of the Burnaby-based football clubs.

He is a Chartered Professional Accountant (“CPA”) in British Columbia and holds a Global Executive MBA from the IESE Business School at the University of Navarra and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University. Richard is also fluent in French, Italian, and Spanish.

Joseph Nakhla has passion for growing the game of soccer with focus on player development. Professionally, Joseph is the Founder and CEO of Tribe Property Technologies.. Prior to this, Joseph was the COO of TIO Networks, acquired by Paypal, and is also a Founder and a board member of OctoAI Technologies Corp. and Minehub Technologies Inc. Joseph studied Civil and Structural engineering and Business Management at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. He currently serves on the Policy Advisory Council of the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association. Joseph is often found on soccer pitches playing or coaching youth and adults at various levels in BC.

Michael currently sits as a Burnaby FC Club Director and High Performance Youth Coach and was one of the founding Club Chairs instrumental in bringing Burnaby FC together. He brings more than 20 years of experience on the board of Wesburn Youth Soccer Club, including nine years as Chair. During that time Michael was recognized by BC Soccer with the Exceptional Leadership Award in 2021.

Born and raised in Nelson, BC, Michael developed his passion for the game through youth soccer before relocating to Burnaby to attend the British Columbia Institute of Technology. He has been a Burnaby resident for over 35 years and continues to play adult soccer in Burnaby today. Deeply committed to soccer in our community, Michael continues to coach and mentor young athletes while giving back to the community by fostering a positive, high-quality environment for youth to develop both on and off the field.

Andrew grew up playing youth soccer in Vancouver, often competing against teams from Burnaby including Cliff Avenue and Wesburn. Fast forward a few decades later and he is excited to be part of the merger that brings these Burnaby clubs together, along with Burnaby Girls, BDMS, and Mountain United. Andrew served on the Cliff Avenue Board for eight years where he helped to oversee the Club’s governance and player safety policies. He has over 10 years of experience coaching boys and girls teams and holds a Canada Soccer C level coaching license. 

For the last 35 years, Morgan has been involved at every level of the game from player, coach, and parent to Club President, GM and Technical Director, including 19 years as the Manager and then General Manager of the Canadian Men’s National and Olympic Soccer Teams. He has liaised with a number of sports organizations such as Concacaf and FIFA, including hundreds of professional clubs and more than 60 different Member Associations (FIFA) while organizing more than 200 international matches, tournaments, training camps and events in countries around the World. His long career in sports management includes media relations, public relations, event management, and organizational planning.

After leaving Canada Soccer in 2018, Morgan served as Bowen Island FC’s GM and Technical Director (a Club he helped found in 2008) and has been a Venue Coordinator and Match Coordinator for Concacaf in Nations League and Gold Cup qualifying matches. He was the GM for TSS Rovers’ League1 BC teams in their inaugural 2022 season. Prior to joining Canada Soccer, Morgan was the Director of Media Relations for the Ottawa Senators, PR Director with the Ottawa Lynx Baseball Club, Sports Information Director at the University of Ottawa and a Sportswriter at the Ottawa Sun.

His playing career included years at Algonquin College (1989), the University of Ottawa (1991-1994), Ottawa Internationals Men’s Premier (1990-2005), Bowen Island FC (2014-2016 VMSL) and of course the Bowen Island adult league. He has coached across numerous levels including the University of Ottawa Women (1996 CIAU National Champions), Ottawa Internationals Women’s Premier and numerous BIFC youth and teams from 2008-2022.

He lives with his wife Joanna and has two daughters, Molly, 21 and Grace, 19.

Scott brings over 30 years of experience as a player, coach, and leader in the game with a career that spans across England and Canada.

Scott began his playing journey in Cornwall, England, before moving to Canada on a scholarship to represent the University of Winnipeg. After serving as Technical Director at the Manitoba Soccer Association, his coaching career took flight in Alberta where he led Calgary Rangers (Director of Coaching and Development) and later Cochrane Wolves FC (Director of Soccer). At Wolves, Scott guided the club to Tier 1 status, built a nationally licensed technical team, and helped the program achieve the National Youth License Standard. He also contributed to Mount Royal University’s men’s team where he won Canada West and competed at the U Sports National Championships.

A CSA A License holder, Scott is eager to shape the club’s technical vision and build something special for the community. “Everyone matters,” he says. “We want to provide quality programming for every player from U5 to adult with homegrown teams at every level through a Burnaby first mindset.”

In his first year, Scott plans to focus on listening and learning while developing strong relationships across the club. His priorities include coach education since “coaches are our multipliers” as well as developing a clear technical vision to align the entire organization under a One Club culture.

When it comes to advice for players, Scott emphasizes passion and commitment. “It is the work you do when no one is looking that matters. Spend time with the ball at home, in the park, anywhere. Enjoy the game.”

Off the field, he lives with his wife Janelle, whom he met through football, their young son Leif, their three-legged border collie Lego, and a new baby on the way.

Kevin has a lengthy and distinguished profile both as a player and as a coach. Kevin played semi-pro in England for Garforth Town FC before being scouted to move to the United States on a soccer scholarship. While attending William Woods University (NAIA), Kevin captained the team from mid freshman year until graduation. He was also recognized to the Honourable Mention Squad twice and First Team All Conference once. Kevin was named Team MVP in both his sophomore and senior years but values being named Academic All American three out of four years just as highly. In 2005 Kevin had the unique opportunity to work for Ajax America; a defining moment in his soccer career. Kevin flew around the United States being an assistant coach to famous retired Ajax players who had moved into coaching roles teaching the Ajax football philosophy to their academies around the world. While still playing soccer at University, Kevin coached U17 Boys (Columbia, MO) then was hired as the Director of Coaching (Jefferson City, MO). 

After completing his Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Management, Kevin took more exams to become a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (NSCA), a certification that he has held for over 15 years. Kevin played as a full time professional after University for Sligo Rovers in The League of Ireland Premiership before pursuing a career in coaching.

After being an assistant coach for the Red Deer College women’s program, Kevin moved to Vancouver where he attended UBC and completed his Masters Degree in Kinesiology excelling in the sport psychology, exercise physiology and motor learning fields.

Kevin holds the BC Soccer Technical Director Diploma, CSA National “B” Licence,  CSA Children’s Licence, CSA Youth License as well as the Premier Diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America.  

Kevin also has completed two online courses from The LMA School of Football Management “Creating a Culture of Excellence” and “Evaluating Performance”. 

Kevin is a Certified BC Soccer Learning Facilitator to educate coaches on their LTPD coaching pathway including the Active Start, Fundamentals, Learning To Train and Soccer For Life Courses. To date Kevin has trained over 500 coaches in the CSA grassroot pathway. 

Prior to joining Burnaby FC, Kevin served as Technical Director with CAUFC. Kevin started with CAUFC in 2010 working with Tony Waiters, in the summer of 2016 he was promoted to Technical Director.  

Born in Canada with a European upbringing from Croatia, it was natural for Kat to fall in love with soccer. Kat started playing at the age of 3, following in the footsteps of both her parents and her older brother who were already actively involved in the game. 

Kat’s father started coaching her from a young age and through most of her career. Between the ages of 7-16, Kat continued to sharpen her skills with Cliff Avenue United Football Club. This led to Kat being chosen to join the very first female HPL Mountain United FC team, where she played from the age of 17-18. Her love for the sport extended through numerous teams in one season. Kat practiced daily, where she would only take breaks to travel back home to Croatia. Even in Croatia, Kat would still participate in local soccer tournaments where she would compete as the only girl in all-male tournaments. 

In 2014, Kat experienced a significant injury which required multiple surgical procedures during her career at post-secondary. Despite this setback in her journey, Kat was still passionate about soccer and knew she still wanted to be deeply involved. This led Kat to reassess her career, leading her to pivot from player to coach. Kat has coached several teams as well as proudly representing the female athletes of Cliff Avenue United Football Club where she served as Head Staff Coach for Girls prior to joining Burnaby FC as Senior Staff Coach Girls and U21 Head Coach. 

In 2022, Tomic was one of the first 10 women chosen to be part of the BC Soccer Female Mentorship Program, a program created to promote female coaching. She has successfully completed her C Licence and Provincial B Licence and holds all Grassroots Coaching Certificates. In 2022, she was appointed the first female president of Croatia SC. Kat has been accepted into the CSA National B Diploma program with a target to complete the certification in 2024. Kat’s goal is to encourage a fun and challenging player-centric environment that promotes both player and team development. Her wealth of experience in soccer motivates Kat to enrich players with a lifelong love and passion for the game of soccer. 

Kim brings to Burnaby FC a wealth of knowledge in player and coach development in British Columbia. Following a successful athletic career as the starting goalkeeper for the University of the Fraser Valley, Kim focused her attention on coaching and leadership opportunities.  

Throughout her years, Kim has held a variety of leadership roles including Technical Director, Head of Grassroots Development, and Director of Goalkeeper Development. She has also been an Assistant Coach for the BC Provincial Program, Vancouver Whitecaps Elite, and post-secondary institutions including UBC Okanagan and Kwantlen College where she helped lead the team to consecutive National Championship tournaments. You can always find Kim on the field whether it be in development centers or coaching various youth teams.  

Kim has obtained the Canadian Soccer Association Children’s Licence, Provincial B Licence, Goalkeeper Diploma and trained Coaching Mentor with the National Coaching Certification Program. She completed four years of Kinesiology at UFV and holds a Diploma of Social Services.  

Kim specializes in character development and is a Certified Positive Psychology Practitioner. She has experience working as a cognitive behavior interventionist and holds certification in Resilience and Wellbeing, Meditation and Mindfulness, and Working with the Inner Critic. 

Nico started loving soccer at a very early age. He began playing when he was at elementary school and continued until his university years. Originally from Chile, Nico has been coaching soccer and teaching sports for over 20 years in Chile, New Zealand and Canada.  

Nico has broad experience from working in different roles such as: Director of Sport Academies, Head Coach, Sport Coordinator, Physical Conditioning Coach, Sports Consultant, Coaches’ Educator, Researcher and PE Teacher in different organizations. 

Nico has a BA in Education and possesses two Master´s Degrees, one in Sports Training (Chile) and the other one in High Performance for Team Sports (Spain). Nico also has two post graduate diplomas, one in Sports Training with a major in physical conditioning and one in Sports Management and Marketing.  

He also holds a Pro – Soccer License from the Chilean Soccer Federation – CONMEBOL, Youth License from Canada Soccer, Children’s License from Canada Soccer and C License from Canada Soccer and the Technical Director Diploma from BC Soccer. Nico is also a BC Soccer Learning Facilitator.  

He joins Burnaby FC after acting as Staff Coach – Boys with CAUFC since April 2019.  

I grew up playing soccer at the age of 5 in Vancouver.  My youth soccer included Vancouver Select teams and then the Provincial Team where we won a gold medal in Newfoundland in 1980.  After 4 years of playing on the Whitecaps Reserve Team, I continued playing with UBC where we won Nationals in 1984. I was also honoured to play futsal for Canada in the World Championships in Spain (1986), Mexico (1990) and Italy (coach and captain – 1991).

At UBC, I completed a Physical Education Degree (1984) where I specialized in coaching and then in child development for my educational certification (1985).  In 1985, I became a teacher with the Vancouver School Board where I enjoyed a wonderful career running The WEST Alternative Program, for neurodivergent grade 9 and 10 students (39 years).  I was recognized by the Vancouver School Board in 2009, with a Scholarship in my name at John Oliver Secondary School, and then again with the province, for a Career in Teaching Excellence in 2019.

I started coaching in grade 12 and have been coaching ever since (46 years).  I was very proud to help establish The Burnaby District Metro Selects program for Burnaby in 2015 where I was the technical director for the entire time until it merged with Burnaby FC.  I also served as technical director for ICSF (2014 – 2019) and Wesburn (2022-2023).  Recently, I am grateful to having coached two teams at BDMS with 7 Provincial Championships and two at Burnaby FC with silver and bronze medals.  While my career in coaching has been predominantly with youth, I have also coached my adult club Columbus over the years winning nationals in 2003 and where our club was honoured and inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in 2015.

My coaching credentials include a National B Licence and a provincial certification licence, which allowed me to certify coaches for their youth licences while a TD at my previous clubs.

I am very excited about being a senior staff coach with Burnaby FC as we have so many wonderful families, players, staff and coaches in our community.

UEFA B-qualified coach and FA Wales Elite Youth A Licence candidate, Dylan brings international experience from England, the USA, and Canada.

Since joining Burnaby FC in 2021, he now serves as Development Centre Coordinator, Women’s Premier Head Coach and Boys 2013 Division 1 Head Coach. Dylan previously coached both the 2007 and 2008 BCSPL Girls teams

Rooted in Tactical Periodization and a game model–based approach, Dylan focuses on developing high technical ability, football intelligence, confidence, and autonomy while building pathways for players and coaches across grassroots and high-performance environments.

• Youth Player with Cliff Avenue United Football Club (2000-2010)
• BCSPL – Mountain United Football Club (2011-2013)
• Provincial Program – BC Soccer (2010-2013)
• National Training Centre Program Player – BC Soccer (2010-2012)
• Varsity Men’s Soccer Player – University of British Columbia Thunderbirds (2013-2016)
• Current Columbus Football Club Player – Vancouver Metro Soccer League Premier
• Competed in various competitions including Super Y-League Finals Tournament (Mountain United FC, 2010), Western Canada Summer Games (Provincial Program, 2011), CSYA Nationals (Provincial Program, 2012), Canada Summer Games (Provincial Program, 2013), CIS Canada West (UBC, 2013 and 2015), and CIS Nationals (UBC, 2013 and 2015)

• Staff Coach – Mountain United Football Club (2020-2023)
• Staff Coach – Cliff Avenue United Football Club (2019-2023)
• Current Technical Assistant – BC Soccer
• Canada Games 2025 Assistant Coach Team BC – BC Soccer
• Head Coach of 2009B Division 1 – Cliff Avenue United Football Club (2020-2023)
• Current Head Coach of 2012B BCSPL – Burnaby FC
• Current Head Coach of 2009B BCSPL – Burnaby FC
• Current Co-Head Coach of BFC Men’s BCPL – Burnaby FC

• All Grassroots certifications
• CSA C Diploma
• CSA B Diploma

Lisa was born and raised in Burnaby and has a long history of involvement in the community holding board positions and volunteering at her children’s schools.  Lisa has also been active in Burnaby soccer for the majority of her life as a player, coach and most recently volunteering on the Board of Directors with CAUFC.

Lisa lives in Burnaby with her husband and 3 children.

Gino played soccer for Grandview Legion in his youth.  He started his coaching career in 1993.  He obtained his Provincial B License in 1996.  He coached ICSF U18 team to the Provincial Cup Finals in 1996.  After taking a break from soccer to focus on his professional career in the Computer Software industry, he joined Cliff Avenue United in 2008 as a coach of his first girls team.  Gino has coached as many as three teams in a single season doing so for 6+ seasons.  In 2010, Gino was voted onto the Cliff Avenue Board of Directors.  Gino has be a board member at Cliff Avenue for 11 seasons in different capacities.  During that time, he has also been a member of the Burnaby District Youth Soccer board of directors for 5 of those 11 seasons.  For the past 5 seasons on the Cliff Avenue Board, Gino has been the Head of Discipline and scholarship committees.  For the past 3 seasons on the Burnaby District Board, Gino has been the VP of Boys and Head of Discipline.  Gino was also on the committee that was instrumental in the formation of Burnaby FC.