Impact Coaches
Mohamed Ahmued
Mohamed is a native of Cairo, Egypt. He began is soccer career at the age of 8 for Club Al Ahly in Cairo, Egypt (one of the largest clubs in the region) where he trained until he was 19. At age 16 he played for the Youth National Team for Egypt. After graduating from the University of Cairo, Egypt, he came to the United States residing in New York, NY. He began playing in the USISL “Sizzle” League and eventually relocated to Knoxville, TN where he became a citizen of the United States in 1988. Mohamed has been coaching locally since 1989 with various clubs. Mohamed holds an Intermediate Level Coaching License from the Egyptian Soccer Federation and a USSF National License.
Luc Dessieux
Luc holds a USSF license, NSCAA Advance National and National Goalkeeper diplomas. He is the assistant coach for the 91 Lady Impact and 93 Impact.
Luc coached the Kingston High School girls from 2000-04, winning over 50 games and making two state appearances. He started coaching in 1996, with the Columbia (Mo.) Pride, while he was an all-conference player at Central Methodist University in Fayette Mo. He is currently in his first season with Karns High School Girls Varsity Team.
Luc played for the semi-pro Fort Pierce (Fla.) Galaxy, the heralded Miami Futbol Club and North Miami Beach Senior High.
A native of Haiti; Luc is the son of the Rev. Luc Dessieux Sr. and Jaccinette Dessieux. Luc holds a Master of Science in Theoretical Nuclear Astro-physics.
Ana Paula Fantini
A native of Campinas, Brazil, Ana played with the Guarani FC from 1992-99 and came to the U.S. in 2000 to play for Union College, where she set numerous records and was a two-time NAIA All-America.
Ana has BS degrees in both Phys Ed and Sports Management, with minors in Health and General Business. She has started work on her master’s in Phys Ed and will graduate in May 2006. Ana is currently the assistant coach at Lincoln Memorial University.
Brett Gleason
A graduate of Carson-Newman (BA in Psychology), Brett is working on his Masters in Counseling at UT and holds a NSCAA Youth National License.
A four year starter for the Eagles, he was a three-time captain and two-time All-South Atlantic Conference All Tournament team. In 2003 and 2004, Brett helped lead the team to its best years ever—two Top 10 finishes and, in ‘04, the school’s first-ever No. 1 national ranking.
While at Carson-Newman Brett helped coach with the Lakeway soccer club and coached at the Carson-Newman and World Cup soccer camps. He has lived in the Knoxville area for 10 years.
Mike McLean
A phys ed teacher at Northwest Middle School, Mike guided the 89 Impact to the 3 State Championship Titles.
Previously an assistant coach for the Tusculum men's team, the Sault Ste. Marie, Canada, native was a four-year standout for the Pioneers, combining for conference and regional championships. As a coach, Mike went 45-27-3 with Tusculum, going 17-3-1 in 2002, with an SAC regular-season title, the Pioneers’ best season in a deaced. Mike has coached seven All-Conference players, two All-Americas and an Academic All-America.
Mike has a USSF license and a NSCAA National Diploma.
Paulo Neto
Paulo Neto is entering his second season as the University of the Cumberlands head soccer coach. Neto joined the Patriot staff after being assistant coach for the men and women's soccer teams at Lincoln Memorial University. Neto hails from Sorocaba, Brazil and was graduated from Union College in 2003 with triple majors in Business Administration, Pyhiscal Education, and Sports Management. He is currently attending Lincoln Memorial University and is pursuing his masters in Business Administration.
Before coming to the United States, Neto played in the U-System of some of the best clubs in the world including Fluminense FC and SC Corinthians. He also was pre-selected to the U-17 Brazilian National Team. In the USA, Neto played at nearby Union College and served as team captain from 2000 to 2002. In addition to being named team captain, Neto was a four-year starter earning All-Conference honors each season including Conference Player of the Year his final season. His various other achievements include being named All-Region in 2000, 2001 and 2002, and All-American in the same years. Neto was an exemplary student-athlete and was recognized twice as an NAIA All-American Scholar. He was also named the recipient of the A.O. Duer Award for the Mid-South Conference.
Neto also works with the Olympic Development Group as a head coach in the state of Kentucky, and Rush Kentucky as the Director of Training.
Neto and his wife Maria have three sons, Tulio who is nine, Lucas who is seven, and Gabriel who is two.
Gary Rach
Coach Gary Rach comes to the organization with an extensive background in soccer. His involvement in the game started as a player and evolved into coaching. He has coached at all levels of the game; Recreational, Club Premier, High School and College. Coach Rach's 17 years coaching experience began in 1990 in Brandon, Florida.
He is currently the Assistant Men's Coach and Goalkeeper Trainer at the University of the Cumberlands. His tenure in the Tampa Bay area included training players and coaching teams in various clubs and organizations. He also trained Brandon High School for 7 year accomplished 6 District Titles, a Western Conference Championship, and a State Championship. At the University of Tampa, he was the Assistant Coach and Goalkeeper Trainer. He has held positions as Director of Goalkeeping at the Lakeland Lazer Soccer Club and the Tampa Knights. Before leaving Tampa for the University of the Cumberlands, he was a club trainer and goal keeper trainer for BAYSL Brandon Flames. He was hired on at the University of the Cumberlands was the Assistance Coach and Goalkeeper trainer.
Having a desire to work at a Club level, he was hired on as a Coach with the KY Rush Soccer Club, shortly after joining the club, he was asked to take on the duties as the Technical Director of the KY Rush.
He has a strong history of success and accomplishments including 9 Final Four appearance, 3 State Championships, 27 Tournament Championships, and 19 Finalist or Semi-Finalist.
His philosophies and beliefs are in developing players into leaders on and off the field and instilling desire, passion and a strong work ethic, to achieve success in all phases of life.
Jamie Shores
Information coming soon.
Alessandra "Le" Tavoloni
Le is from Limeira, Brazil. She played with the Guarani FC from 1996-2002. In 2002, Le played in the U19 Brazilian National team, the same year she came to U.S. to play for Union College. Le was named NAIA All-American all four years, freshman of the years (2002), and two times player of the year (2003-2005). She has a BS degrees in both Phys Ed and Sports Management, with minors in General Business. Le started work on my master’s in Phys Ed and will graduate in May 2008. Le is currently the Graduate Assitant for the student developement department at Union College.
Bob Seyer
Birthplace: St. Louis, MO
Coaching career: Started as an AYSO coach, working with multiple teams a season for 8-9 years. Began as a competitive coach (Assistant) in 1999 and completed National C License.
Robbie Wickham
A native of Trinidad and a veteran of the Trinidad National team, Robbie is the club’s skills trainer. He has been with the Impact since it's inception in 2001. Robbie currently holds a USSF "C" License.