About us

Phil Selby

As Head Sport Consultant at Sporting Chance USA, Phil Selby has the task of identifying the sporting and academic abilities of each applicant. For the past 4 years Phil has worked extensively in assisting UK based sportsmen & women to fulfill their dream of gaining an academic/sports scholarship at a US College. Phil has an excellent sporting background and is the holder of the UEFA ‘B’ coaching license and is also a qualified SAQ instructor. He has held both scouting and coaching positions at: Coventry City FC, Grimsby Town FC, West Bromwich Albion FC, Notts County FC and Derby County FC where until his recent retirement coached part-time on the club’s youth development programme.

Phil also has 7 years soccer coaching experience in the USA.
1996 he worked on the Coerver Soccer Coaching Camp at Judson College, Illinois.
1997 and 1998, he coached extensively in both Minnesota and North Carolina.
1999 / 2000 & 2001, Phil worked as Soccer Camp Director on the Golden Touch Soccer Academy in North Carolina.

To support this sporting background, Phil has worked as both lecturer and sports coach at four UK colleges and has a BA (Hons) in Education.

He now brings this expertise to Sporting Chance USA.
“Over the years, I have helped athletes from, soccer, golf, basketball, tennis, swimming and track & field to gain excellent scholarships in top NCAA and NAIA Colleges. Now that I am with Sporting Chance USA, I look forward to spending time with athletes and their families, ensuring that they have the outstanding opportunity of securing a US academic/sports scholarship.

I see Sporting Chance USA as being different from similar UK based organizations, in as much that we are actually looking for a much smaller client base. This will give us the opportunity of spending more time with each individual. I know from past experience the amount of work that has to be put in to help just one athlete obtain a successful US Scholarship and the time required to support each athlete and his/her family. This is why your scholarship application will be exclusively tailored for you. No two athletes are the same, so why should they be treated as such?

At Sporting Chance USA, we welcome applications from a wide range of sporting activities. US Colleges offer scholarship opportunities to athletes from a variety of sporting backgrounds and our aim is to find the athletes and help them achieve their goal.

So if you have a strong sporting and academic background, we want to hear from you. In return we promise we will give you the help and support required in order for you to achieve your ultimate ambition. Believe me, we will not leave you out there waiting for things to happen, or for the phone to ring – we will MAKE IT HAPPEN!”

Elaine Simanis

As Co-Director, responsible for office management and organisation, Elaine Simanis has an extensive background in Business Administration, where she gained experience of working in HR, Management Planning and Methods Evaluation.

She has also worked as an Information Specialist for several years prior to working as a Lecturer and Manager at a college of Further Education, which has given her expertise and understanding of educational procedures and organisation.

“I look forward to providing an efficient service for all of our clients and helping to provide more scholarship opportunities.”

John Sparks

As Marketing Consultant at Sporting Chance USA, John Sparks has the role of marketing our sportsmen and women to a wide range of USA Universities and Colleges so that their aspiration to gain a scholarship at one of these educational institutions is met. Having gained a BA (Hons) in History and a Post Graduate Certificate in Education, John was a teacher before gaining sales and marketing experience with Scottish & Newcastle Breweries, Pernod (UK) Ltd and L’Oreal (UK). He then enjoyed a successful career as a Royal Air Force Officer, spent mostly as a Flight Commander responsible for the graduation of potential junior officers at the Royal Air Force College Cranwell, Lincs.

John is a qualified 1st4sport Level One Coach, a recent Press Officer for the Royal Air Force Football Association and, in 2007, was the Club Captain at Greetham Valley Golf Club, Rutland.

“I have known Phil Selby for 10 years as he has had a major impact on my son’s football career at the Notts County FC Centre of Excellence and as a Sporting Chance USA soccer scholar. Therefore, I was delighted to be offered the opportunity to work alongside him and Elaine in their company. Having been part of the whole process of my son successfully gaining a Sporting Chance USA soccer scholarship in the USA, I believe I am in a unique position to offer the benefits of this experience to clients and their families in a similar position. I intend to work tirelessly on behalf of our sportsmen and women to achieve the USA University or College Scholarship their academic and sporting abilities deserve.”