Iain Sanderson was born in England and grew up in Ipswich, home of the mighty Ipswich Town Football Club, who he has supported as a small boy & hopes one day to see them return to the Premiership!
He played both High School and Club soccer in his youth before moving to Leeds to do his Bachelors in Sport, Health & Leisure with Business Management. Throughout his 20s and early 30s he enjoyed playing the sport for fun, playing in weekly 5 aside games.
His coaching career started at Mako Soccer Club when his daughter, Emma, then aged 4 decided that she’d like to try soccer. Originally a spectator on the sidelines, he decided to put his many years of playing & watching the beautiful game to good use. Moving on from our rec program he was an Assistant in our Pre-Academy for a year before moving onto competitive coaching where he has coached the a number of teams including our 2012 girls.
During this time, Coach Iain was working towards his US soccer licenses - getting his Grassroots in 2022 and his USSF “D” license in 2023. He has also worked with our Pre Academy & Development Programs over the past 3 years - ensuring that our recreational players get the opportunity to move into competitive soccer.
Iain is married to Dr Liliana Cano, a Professor at Florida State University and is the proud father of Emma, Abby and Brianna