Coach Toby played Basketball at Los Gatos High School and Cabrillo Junior College before transferring to UC Santa Barbara where he graduated with a degree in Environmental Studies and Minor in History. His coaching career began during the college years and grew into a life-long pursuit. Over the past 20 years, Toby has coached at all levels, including:

• 7th grade 2019 All Net Team (3rd Place at Nationals),
• Los Gatos High School (20-1 in 2017, 18-6 in 2018),
• Santa Barbara High School (League Championship)
• St. Katherine’s College where they played against UNLV, Weber State, Santa Clara, San Jose State, etc. and even beat a few DII programs!

An important part of Coach Toby’s philosophy is the value of being great on the court and also in the classroom. These go together no matter what your skill level is!

Driven to develop student athletes to be the best they can be Toby makes a point of teaching and cultivating interpersonal skills that transfer from the court to life. Applying his experience at all levels he emphasizes skill development, systems to accommodate team strengths and creation of successful game plans, encouraging the growth of positive, intelligent, driven players.

Coach Toby’s ultimate goal is to build a program that has buy in by all involved – players, parents, coaching staff as well as the local high schools and Colleges.

Coach Toby cherishes the opportunity to watch these young men grow on and off the court as they become better students, athletes and men we can be proud of when they graduate and head out into the world!

I am originally from New York, where I played basketball in both high school and college. I moved to Northern California after I finished college to start my career.

Basketball was always important to me so I continued to find ways to play and keep it in my life. My experience playing and love of the game led naturally into a desire to coach. As it turned out I chose to balance my career as a project manager in the Silicon Valley with coaching on the side  throughout the years.

My coaching experience spans from grades 3 to 12 including 5 years as high school varsity coach. I enjoyed 2 years as freshman coach at Los Gatos High School, 3 years of All Net coaching in Los Gatos, 3 years of AAU coaching with West Valley Drive. Overall my teams have had great success, whether by winning or by improving and growing as players and individuals.

I have coached and trained players at all levels for skills development and have directed basketball camps and clinics. I am a past member of the Positive Coaching Alliance and strive to teach my players the best values sports can provide.

West Valley DRIVE offers a unique program which is led by coaches with high school and college experience who both understand the game and how to teach it effectively. We work together to provide our players a confidence building and enriching experience.

I coach because I have been an athlete my entire life. It gives me great pleasure to share my knowledge and love for the game and watch my players not only develop their skills but also build upon friendships for growth, support and FUN.

Prior to coming to the USA, Coach Carlos developed his coaching career in Spain for over 15 years, where he obtained the certification to coach professional teams and coached at the college level.

Here in the Bay Area, Coach Carlos has coached NJB, AAU and High School basketball. He is currently the JV girls head coach at a local high school.  

Over the last 20 years, he has coached boys and girls in most age groups, from 5th grade to college and everything in between. 

He’s a firm believer in basketball IQ and teamwork over athleticism as a recipe for success and he is committed to developing players to their fullest potential.

Coach Saumon Tahmassebi (A.K.A Coach Saum) brings an energetic and creative mind to West Valley Drive. He has recent experience playing in NJB, AAU, and High School Varsity basketball in the South Bay Area. When playing on the court, Coach Saum uses his high-level basketball IQ to lead his teams to success, which translates directly to his coaching with West Valley DRIVE.

Coach Saum first joined West Valley Drive in fall of 2018 where he won multiple
tournament championships with his team. Since then, he has head coached two 11+ teams and a 5th grade Los Gatos All Net Team.

Coach Saum also runs and operates our Social Media Marketing.

Coach Ricky brings years of experience as a basketball player, official and youth basketball coach. He has worked with youth in other capacities as well. He taught swimming lessons for 9 years and he currently works as a Behavioral Technician at the Elementary School Level.

Ricky played basketball 3 out of 4 years in high school and served as a Basketball Official for 3 years at the Varsity Level. His basketball coaching experience includes working as JV Assistant Coach at Monte Vista High School for one season, 2 seasons coaching for the Oakland Soldiers and 4 seasons coaching for South Bay Hustle.

He has worked successfully with all ages and we are excited to have him joining our team!

Coach Pete joins West Valley Drive after a lengthy playing and coaching career in the Midwest. Following a collegiate career which culminated in him being named conference player of the year along with an NAIA All-American nod, Coach was blessed with the opportunity to play professionally both in the states as well as at the international level.

Throughout his playing days his commitment and passion for teaching the game never wavered, contributing to numerous programs from the middle school to the collegiate level as a coach and skill development trainer.

Coach Pete is extremely excited to bring his wealth of knowledge and experience to the hardwood of the South Bay, looking forward to mentoring our program’s young men and woman on their individual journey with the game he loved so much.