HOCKEY OPERATIONS & 2025-26 COACHES
Director: George Caliendo
Associate Director: Tim Nelson
Assistant Director, 8u - 12u : Michelle Chee
Assistant Director, 14u - HS : David Duble
Assistant Director, Goaltending : Trevor Waechter
2025-26 Regular Season Coaches
High School - Head Coach: Brady Anderson; Associate Coach: Aidan Smyth
16u - Head Coach: David Duble; Associate Coach: Paul Switenki
14u-1 - Head Coach: Daro Serizawa
14u-2 - Co-Head Coaches: Tim Nelson & TBD
12u-1 - Head Coach Spencer Mains; Associate Coach: Allen Lin
12u-2 - Co-Head Coaches: Allen Ball & Tim Nelson
10u-1 - Head Coach: Michelle Chee
10u-2 - Head Coach: Trevor Waechter
8u - Head Coach: Shane Holland; Associate Coaches: Jon Quick, Mark McDowell, Allen Lin
We will announce assistant coaches for all teams in the coming weeks.
Coaches’ Bios
(HS) Coach Brady Anderson, a native Minnesotan, grew up playing hockey for White Bear Lake. He’s been coaching with the Sabercats since 2022 and last season, along with Coach Aidan Smyth, led the San Francisco High School team to victory in the state championship.
(16u) Coach David Duble grew up in North Haven, CT and began playing hockey at age 7. Dave traveled throughout the New England and Mid-Atlantic states representing the Greater New Haven Youth Hockey Association from squirts through midgets. After playing two years of high school hockey at North Haven High School, and winning a state championship, he played two years at Choate School. Three years of junior varsity hockey at St. Lawrence University followed, and after graduating, Dave moved to California. A long-time resident of San Francisco, Dave is in his 17th year with the Sabercats and continues to play organized hockey in the City. He is a Level 4 USA Hockey certified coach.
(16u) Coach Paul Switenki grew up on the lakes, ponds, and indoor & outdoor rinks of Minnesota where he progressed through in-house, travel, and high school hockey. In the summers he skated with Herb Brooks’ hockey camp, where the focus was power skating, fundamentals, and European tactics and systems. At Penn State University, a work-study position at the campus ice rink led to his first coaching experience, an in-house program which was way ahead of its time with its focus on stations-based skills practices and small area games, much like USA Hockey’s now-standard ADM model. Paul also coached travel teams while at Penn State and later while he was a graduate student in Boulder, Colorado. He coached women’s hockey in London, England and upon his return to the US, helped found and grow the San Francisco Sabercats youth hockey program where he has coached teams from 8u to 18u. Coach Paul is a Level 4 USA Hockey certified coach.
(14u) Coach Daro Serizawa is entering his fifth year as a coach with the Sabercats, which follows his own youth hockey career with both the Sabercats and Golden State Elite. He is a Level 4 USA Hockey certified coach. Coach Daro’s focus is on teaching both the skills and strategies of the game, while also helping players grow into happy and responsible young adults. It’s no surprise that off the ice Daro is a full-time teacher, which clearly shapes the way he coaches his players.
(14u & 12u) Coach Tim Nelson grew up in Southern California and played youth hockey, 8u through 18u tier, at his local club in Burbank. When he was 16, he started assisting in the hockey skating school program in Pasadena. He went on to head the skating school and became a power skating instructor. He’s been coaching hockey non-stop ever since. Coach Tim is a Level 4 USA Hockey certified coach, and over the past 20 years he’s coached across the 8u, 10u, 12u, and 14u levels. His coaching philosophy is to help players fall in love with the game while they learn the satisfaction that comes from hard work.
(12u) Coach Spencer Mains returns to coaching with the Sabercats this season as he approaches twenty years on the bench. Most recently, he served as head coach at Stanford University, which competes in Division 2 of the American Collegiate Hockey Association. In addition to college-level hockey, he has coached 12u, 14u, 16u, and 18u with the Santa Clara Blackhawks and Tri-Valley Blue Devils. Coach Spencer is a Level 5 USA Hockey certified coach.
(12u) Coach Allen Lin brings over a decade of skating and skills coaching experienced, backed by a degree in kinesiology and biomechanics. His expertise spans nutrition, sports psychology, and physiology. These, complemented by his collegiate club hockey experience, drive his focus on science-driven, holistic athlete development at all levels. Coach Allen is a Level 4 USA Hockey certified coach.
(12u) Coach Allen Ball grew up in upstate New York and started playing hockey in college at MIT. He began coaching with the Sabercats alongside Coach Shane Holland in the 2010-11 mite season, when his son was an 8u. In recent years, he has been an assistant coach with Coach George at the 10u and 12u levels. In addition to coaching, Allen still plays organized hockey and is now starting his next phase of life as an empty nester with his wife Martha now that his children Victoria and Alonzo have “fledged.” Coach Allen is a Level 4 USA Hockey certified coach.
(10u) Coach Michelle Chee is an OG Sabercat, playing her youth hockey with both San Francisco and San Jose. She began her coaching career in 2003-04 with SF’s peewee team while she was just a midget herself. After graduating high school, she moved east where she played NCAA women’s hockey at Trinity College, and continued coaching youth hockey with the Learn to Skate program in Hartford, CT. After college, she moved to Hong Kong where she organized and coached in a youth hockey league of almost 400 players, and coached select teams that played across China, Taiwan, and Japan. She’s been back with the Sabercats a number of years now, coaching across a range of age groups. Coach Michelle is a Level 4 USA Hockey certified coach.
(10u) Coach Trevor Waechter is a native of Vacaville. He began playing with the Jets and then moved on to tier hockey with both the Jr. Sharks and Golden State Elite. He then played WHAC Division 1 hockey for Concordia University on a full athletic scholarship. There, he received accolades for his sportsmanship, teamwork, and academic responsibility, earning the WHAC Champion of Character Award. Upon returning to the Bay Area, Trevor went on to become head goalie coach for Golden State Elite and the Sabercats. In addition to leading the goalie program for San Francisco, Trevor most recently was a 10u Sabercats head coach. He is a Level 5 USA Hockey certified coach, and by year end will be certified as a Gold-Level goalie coach.
(8u) Coach Shane Holland returns to coaching the Sabercats with 20 years of coaching experience across teams including the Anaheim Jr. Ducks, Santa Clara Blackhawks, and Bay Area Blazers. Prior to moving to Southern California he was Director of Player Development and Director of Coaches for the San Francisco Sabercats. He has coached players of all levels, from B to AAA, including many who advanced to high-level Prep, Junior, NCAA, and professional hockey. Shanes’ two sons, both of whom played with the Sabercats, now play Junior and NCAA Division 1 hockey. Coach Shane is a Level 4 USA Hockey certified coach.
(8u) Coach Jon Quick has been playing hockey since he was 5 years old. Jon grew up in Toronto and hockey has always been a big part of his life and a source of joy, except for his beloved Maple Leafs who manage to tear his heart out every year in increasingly painful ways. Coach Jon was MVP of his high school team, has represented the USA internationally, and played in the ball hockey national championships. For the past few years, Coach Jon and Coach Allen Lin have grown the Sabercats 8u program with a focus on skill development and fun. He has been the driving force behind the in-house league and the many amazing events with the San Jose Sharks.
(8u) Coach Mark McDowell grew up playing hockey in the Bay Area, suiting up for both the Jr. Sharks and the Santa Clara Blackhawks. At 15, he moved to New Hampshire, where he played hockey for Tilton School, a member of the New England Prep School Hockey League. He returned to the Bay Area for college, continuing his hockey career at Santa Clara University. During the past two years, Mark has served as the skills coach for Sabercats 16u.
(Director) Coach George Caliendo has been coaching youth hockey for almost every one of the past 37 years. For the first ten years, he was head coach for St. Bernard’s School, which at the time had one of only two travel hockey programs in New York City. During that time, he was also coach, teacher, and mentor for Ice Hockey in Harlem, one of the earliest and most influential ice hockey programs focused on at-risk youth. After moving to Los Angeles, George coached in-house hockey in the Jr. Kings program and after moving to the Bay Area, he began coaching with the Sabercats in 2003-04 and has since coached every level from 8u through GSE 18AA. He has coached more than a few current and recent Sabercat coaches. Coach George played club hockey at Columbia University in college and Columbia Business School in graduate school. He is a Level 5 USA Hockey certified coach.
