Staff

Tacoma native Lane Smith’s ties to soccer in the South Sound date back to his days as a player at Lincoln High School. His passion for the sport fueled his decision to purchase the rights to the Tacoma Stars branding and logos in 2014, and was involved in the team’s rise to the Major Arena Soccer League that same season.

Lane’s contributions to soccer in the South Sound include partnering with Seattle Sounders FC to establish successful player development franchises such as Sounders Women and Sounders U-23. He currently serves as lease holder and benefactor of the non-profit Tacoma Soccer Center.

Outside of his work on the pitch, Lane serves as the Chief Financial Officer and co-owner of Datec Inc., a well-regarded and locally owned enterprise infrastructure provider, systems integrator, and IT professional services company.

Darren Sawatzky is in his first full season serving as the head coach and general manager of the Stars. He leads the franchise by carrying a coaching resume that includes stints as the Director of Youth Development for Seattle Sounders FC, Head Assistant Coach for the USL Sounders, and Assistant Coach at the University of Washington. He also serves as the head coach for the Sounders U23.

Darren’s playing career includes stops in Major League Soccer at New England, Colorado, and Dallas, the United Soccer League with Seattle and Portland, and with Kansas City in the Major Indoor Soccer League.

John Crouch heads up the business side of the Tacoma Stars, interfacing with the Tacoma Rainiers front office to propel the Stars into a new era. A native of Tacoma, John was born and raised a huge Tacoma Stars supporter in the 1980s and 90s. He has a passion for local soccer and has worked to build local high level leagues both indoor and outdoor with the EPLWA and WISL respectively. When Lane Smith took over ownership of the Tacoma Stars, John was instrumental in putting together the business side of the team alongside legendary coach Darren Sawatzky. Over the course of less than a year, the team assembled to play in the semi-pro WISL league moved into the professional MASL league, all under John's leadership.

John will work side by side with Sawatzky to get the team side what they need, along with working directly with the staff at the Rainiers to build a product that is both relevant and exciting for our local community. John understands the ins and outs of the local Tacoma landscape and soccer community. He will be working to make a strong connection to rebuild the Stars to the greatness he remembers as a child in this great city.

Julia Falvey joins the Stars as part of a marketing and business development partnership with the Tacoma Rainiers. Julia has served as the Director of Partner Development for the Rainiers since 2013 after establishing her professional career in the non-profit community.

Born and raised in Pierce County, Julia grew up attending Stars games at the Tacoma Dome and is excited to help the franchise reclaim its place as a centerpiece in the community. She and her husband, Joey, live in Tacoma with their dog, Zooey. When not representing the Stars, Julia enjoys cooking, music, and being outdoors.

Brett Gleason leads the Stars communication efforts as part of a partnership with the Tacoma Rainiers. This will be Brett's second stint in arena sports, after having worked for the Spokane Shock of the Arena Football League throughout the 2014 season.

Brett is a proud graduate of Washington State University and die-hard supporter of Cougar Athletics. During his time at WSU, Brett spent four years writing for the student newspaper, The Daily Evergreen, and served as the publication's Sports Editor for one semester. When away from the office, Brett enjoys watching sports, playing video games, and spending time with friends and family.

Casey Catherwood leads the Stars marketing efforts as part of a partnership with the Tacoma Rainiers. He is currently the Game Entertainment Director for the Tacoma Rainiers and takes great pride in putting on a show for fans of all ages.

Casey is a published writer, playwright, painter, and musician. In his spare time, he enjoys antique hunting, trying new food, and planning an eventual run for public office.

Yvette Yzaguirre has worked in various parts of the sports industry. Beginning her career in Minor League Baseball with the Connecticut Tigers in 2012, she spent the next three seasons with the Spokane Indians Baseball Club. Now she proudly joins the Tacoma Stars, through a partnership with the Tacoma Rainiers, as the club's Corporate Partner Services Coordinator.

Yvette is from her desert home of Pasco, Washington and moved to Moscow, ID in 2009 to attend the University of Idaho where she graduated in December of 2013 with Bachelors of Science degrees in Marketing and Management with a Human Resource Emphasis.

In her spare time Yvette enjoys working out, traveling, going to sporting events, and hanging out with friends. She also has a challenging name so encourages nicknames (YY, Yve, Vett, Vetti, Elv, and Corvette).

Raphael Cox, a midfielder for the Tacoma Stars, joins the club's front office in 2016 as the Tacoma Stars Camps Director. Cox has over 15 years of playing experience, and has coupled that with nearly a decade of coaching experience.

Cox has previously worked camps for the University of Washington, the Seattle Sounders, and Real Salt Lake. In addition to his camps experience, Cox has served as the JV coach for Giaudrone Middle School, the assistant varsity coach for Decatur High School, the Meeker Middle School JV coach, and more.

Cox earned 1st Team All-Pac 10 honors in 2008, and was selected by Salt Lake in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft.

After spending four seasons as the Director of Safety/Security and Game Day Operations for the Seattle Sounders F.C. U23 and the Sounders Women, Lance Larson has joined the Tacoma Stars as the Director of Team Operations. In this position Lance works closely with the coaching staff and players in the day-to-day operation of the team and is responsible for team logistics. Lance acts as a liaison with other MASL clubs and provides coordination and scheduling in support of the Tacoma Stars management mission to ensure all league operational requirements and regulations are met.

Jason organizes all game day processes, including staff, front-end and gate, merchandise sales, communications, guest hospitality, parking, game day financials, volunteers, payment of staff and referees and more.

Jason is the glue that keeps our game day together for the fans best possible enjoyment.

Chris works with the team at all trainings and gamedays to make sure that both the home and visiting teams are set up for optimal performance and comfort. Chris comes onto the Stars for a second year and is extremely detail oriented making sure we provide a great environment for all players that come into contact with our club.

Erik Waterland, DPT was born in Tacoma and raised in Gig Harbor, Washington where he graduated from Gig Harbor High School. Erik next attended Tacoma Community College and was then recruited to play soccer at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama where he graduated with a degree in biology. He was on athletic and academic scholarships at both colleges and captained both of his teams. Finally, he earned his doctorate in physical therapy from The University of Puget Sound.

Erik has been a fan of soccer from an early age, beginning organized play himself at the age of five. He has been playing recreational soccer in the Tacoma area consistently since that time. A childhood fan of the NASL Sounders and even more so of the MISL Tacoma Stars, Erik is both excited and proud to be a part of the current Stars organization. He has been working with the team in its various leagues and levels since 2010. His primary physical therapy practice is in north Tacoma and focuses mainly on orthopedic and sports injuries.

Christine Harris-Spinks, MD is a board-certified physician in family medicine and primary care sports medicine who specializes in the non-surgical care of sports injuries and the prevention of exercise-related injuries. Dr. Harris-Spinks completed a sports medicine fellowship at the University of Colorado, where she served as a team physician for the Buffaloes football, volleyball, and lacrosse teams.

A Washington native, Dr. Harris-Spinks completed her residency training, medical school, and undergraduate education at the University of Washington. She has served as the team physician for the Huskies ice hockey team and provided medical coverage for numerous local events, including the Seattle Marathon and the Windermere Cup.

Joshua Johnston, MD is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon specializing in adult joint reconstruction with a focus on total hip replacement and complex revisions. He is also board-certified in Orthopedic Sports Medicine and specializes in arthroscopic surgery of the hip, knee, and shoulder.

Dr. Johnston completed a fellowship at the Santa Monica Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Group, which is a FIFA Centre of Medical Excellence, where he served as the team physician for the L.A. Galaxy and Chivas USA Major League Soccer teams, the U.S. Men’s and Women’s National Soccer Teams and the Pepperdine University and Santa Monica Community College athletic departments.

Dr. Johnston is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American Orthopaedic Society of Sports Medicine.

Dr. Leo Chough, MD is a Curtis HS and UW graduate. He earned his medical degree at Washington University in St Louis. While there he completed his orthopedic surgery residency at St Louis/Barnes-Jewish Hospital. He trained under St Louis Rams physician Matt Matava, St Louis Blues physician Rick Wright and St Louis Cardinals associate physician Ken Yamaguchi.

His sports medicine fellowship was completed at the University of Pennsylvania, with Booth-Bartolozzi-Balderston orthopedics in Philadelphia. While there Dr. Chough’s working sports resume included the following professional organizations; Eagles (NFL), Flyers (NHL), Phantoms (AHL), KiXX (MISL), and Rage (ABL).

Brandon Sparks is the founder and General Manager of the Western Indoor Soccer League's Oly Town Artesians and owner and operator of Olympia's Sports Page, OlySports.com.

A native of Olympia and a graduate of Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, Brandon is the voice of Shelton High School football on Newsradio 1030 AM KMAS and the voice of Saint Martin's University men's and women's basketball. He worked in media relations and marketing for the Grays Harbor Gulls, Elmira Pioneers and Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings baseball teams and for the Seattle Supersonics and Storm for four years.

Outside of sports, he worked for the e-Commerce departments of Archie McPhee and The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. He currently resides in Olympia with his biggest supporters, his wife Angie and his two daughters, Addie and Rory.

John studied Broadcast Journalism at Green River Community College and Washington State University, and is currently employed with the City of Olympia. He is also part of the KMAS radio high school football broadcasts every Friday night, serving as the Broadcast Analyst or the past four years.

Growing up in the South Sound, John attended numerous Tacoma Stars games in the Tacoma Dome and is excited to be a part of the upcoming Stars season.