The 2023 season marks Eric Yamamoto's 32nd year coaching at Santa Clara University. Yamamoto serves as associate head coach to a program he helped build. Wearing the Bronco uniform from 1986-89, Yamamoto was an All-American goalkeeper on Santa Clara's 1989 NCAA co-National Championship team.

A proven leader, recruiter and coach, Yamamoto spent most of the 1990's as the goalkeepers coach for Santa Clara's men's and women's programs joining the coaching ranks in 1992.  In 2007 he was named National Assistant Coach of the Year by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).

Yamamoto has worked with many of world's best goalkeepers as a member of the U.S. National Team coaching staff. He has coached numerous U.S. National Youth Teams on both the boys and girls sides as well as the U.S. Women's National Team. Most recently, he served on the U-23 U.S. Men's National Team staff as its goalkeeper coach in 2012. That US team competed in the 2012 CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying tournament. He has also served as the assistant coach for the U.S. U-18 men's team. In the summer of 2007, he was part of the U.S. team at the Pan-American Games in Brazil.

At Santa Clara, Yamamoto has trained such standouts as 1992 West Coast Conference Defensive MVP Sue Wall, 1995 All-American men's goalkeeper and two-time MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Joe Cannon, 1998 WCC Defensive Player of the Year David Alexander, 2003 U-20 World Championship Goalkeeper of the Tournament and former LA Galaxy goalkeeper Steve Cronin, All-WCC netminder Rusty Johnson and the 2015 WCC Co-Goalkeeper of the Year Kendall McIntosh.

Since the formation of the WCC for women's soccer, Santa Clara featured the league's toughest defense in six of the first eight seasons, all with Yamamoto coaching the Bronco keepers. In 2001, he helped the women's squad capture its first National Championship, as the Broncos shutout perennial national powerhouse North Carolina, 1-0.

Yamamoto was a four-year starter, athletic All-American and three-time Academic All-America honoree as a student-athlete at Santa Clara. He established Bronco records with 38 shutouts and a 0.47 goals-against average during his senior season - leading Santa Clara to the 1989 NCAA National co-Championship.

He anchored an outstanding Santa Clara defense that allowed just 10 goals in 23 matches in 1989, posting a 20-0-3 record en route to finishing the year as the nation's No. 1 ranked team. SCU's 1989 side is the last NCAA Division I men's team to finish a season undefeated.

He was married in December of 2000. He and his wife, Julie, currently reside in San Jose with their daughter, Malia.