Afer graduating in Sports Studies, Tom spent the 18 years at the forefront of world sport. After establishing and running his own successful sports marketing agency in 1987, Tom moved to Switzerland to work with ISL, the world’s leading sports marketing company whose clients included FIFA, UEFA, IAAF and the European Rugby Cup. After working on the 1998 FIFA World Cup and EURO 2000 football championship finals, Tom became Head of Rugby at ISL Worldwide with full responsibility for the commercial development of the successful European Rugby Cup. Upon his return to the UK, Tom became Commercial Director at The Millennium Stadium, host to major sporting and cultural events including the FA Cup, Rugby World Cup and the World Speedway Grand Prix. Following a period as Commercial Director of The International Academy, which was sold to Thomson Holidays, Tom established inspiresport in April 2004. On the sporting field, Tom was an international amateur golfer and committed football and rugby player to a reasonable standard.
Mark Loosemore - Director
A qualified solicitor with specialist experience in commercial work in the sports and media sectors for leading governing bodies, sports marketing agencies and individuals. Mark was Director of Legal Affairs at Premium TV and was also a director of premium TV’s joint ventures with the English Football League, Newcastle United, Rangers, Middlesbrough and Leicester City. Previously he was group Commercial Director at the Welsh Rugby Union during the period of the opening of the Millennium Stadium and hosting the 1999 Rugby World Cup.
In addition to his role with inspiresport, Mark is CEO of a successful legal training company based in Cardiff.
On the sporting field, Mark was an international tennis player and an enthusiastic amateur soccer player.
Kevin Johnson - Director
Kevin has held various senior positions in both public and private sector, agency and client roles. Originally starting his career as a PE teacher in Newcastle, he left the education system to work with fellow international athlete Alan Pascoe to start-up a sports marketing company which, within a few years became the UK's most powerful sports agencies in the world.
Kevin has since had an enviable track record as Marketing Services Director at The British Tourist Board before becoming Commercial Director of the new Millennium Experience Company. In 2001 Kevin moved to Scotland has held a number of key roles including CEO of the successful Loch Lomond Shores project and Commercial Director of the Scottish Rugby Union.
On the sporting field, Kevin was a top class distance runner, winning a number of national titles.
Ian Wilkins - Director
Ian has worked for nearly 20 years in a series of high profile travel roles. He worked closely with Sir Richard Branson as head of Leisure sales during a 7 year stint at Virgin Atlantic. In 2000 Ian joined the FTSE 100 company, P&O Cruises as Head of Sales. In 2002 following a short spell as head of UK Sales at The International Academy, Ian set up his own property and retail business.
His passion for soccer has no ends – he coaches a local youth team, is an investor in a semi-professional team and has slavishly followed recently relegated Crystal Palace through the good and bad times for over 20 years.
Jed McCabe - Youth Development Director
Jed joined inspiresport in October 2004, following two years at The International Academy as Regional Development Manager for Scotland and the North of England.
Jed is very passionate about the development of young players and his enthusiasm has resulted in successfully introducing the residential development football train and play programmes to hundreds of groups and teams from the UK and beyond.
Previously, Jed was Sales Manager at P&O Cruises and in 2001 was voted by all the travel companies in Scotland as the “ best company representative of the year”.
In addition to introducing the inspiresport development programmes into schools and clubs, Jed also plays an active role in the on-site Operations at the leading clubs.
Jeff Taylor - Sales Manager
After graduating in Sports Studies in 1988, Jeff spent 4 years in the sporting goods business before moving into specialist school group travel. During the last 13 years Jeff has had senior sales and managment roles with some of the leading UK school group travel providers.
Before entering college as a mature student, Jeff spent two years playing semi-professional football in France. A talented sportsman, Jeff has also played to a high standard of rugby and still plays for a leading veteran's football team in his leisure time.
Jeff joined inspiresport in October 2004 and is the Youth Development Director for the Wales, Midlands and South West.
Ceryn Fisk - Head of Operations
Ceryn has been involved in the travel and operational side of the Sports industry for the past eleven years, taking roles servicing both sporting governing bodies and travelling supporters. Ceryn joined us as Head of Operations from Welsh Rugby Union Travel Services (part of Titan Travel Group). At the WRU Travel Services, she organised tours for Welsh Rugby Union squads, directors and supporters, often co-ordinating the needs of up to 500 people, so our school and club groups do not faze her in the slightest!
Unsurprisingly, Ceryn is a keen rugby supporter but the general enthusiasm in the office for the round ball is rubbing off !
Juan Bautista Sanchez - Liaison Officer - Spain
As he was growing up, Juan's family moved around Spain and travelled widely in Europe and North Africa. A keen sporstman, he worked as an assistant PE teacher and coach for volleyball and football before studying tourism at university. After graduating, Juan worked on the travel agency side of the tourist business before managing to combine his two passions - football and travel working with us at inspiresport.
Juan is fluent in English. He also speaks French and Italian.
Ryan Brtany - Operations Manager
A keen sportsman, Ryan has represented his county in a number of fields as a teenager. Although football was his passion and he subsequently signed for Stockport County FC before attending University of Wales Institute, Cardiff (UWIC) where he studied sports and leisure management. During his studies Ryan played for the University team and began working through the UEFA football coaching badges. He began coaching for Cardiff City as part of the football in the community scheme before moving up to coach on the Cardiff City Academy. During the summer breaks Ryan would cross the Atlantic to direct soccer camps across the North East and Mid-Atlantic regions of America for Challenger Sports. Upon graduating he moved to the of the US and spent a 3 year stint as director of coaching at an elite soccer academy in the state of Virginia before returning and joining the inspiresport team in August 2007. Ryan is currently the player/coach for a leading Sunday league team and continues to coach youth football in the medium of Welsh for South Wales Soccer Schools.
Sam Houldsworth - Development Manager and Representative
Sam has worked for inspiresport for nearly four years spending the majority of his time out in the front line repping groups. A Bsc Honours graduate in sport and PE from UWIC University, Sam has had plenty of experience within sport, focusing his playing career in football. Sam has spent a vast majority of time out in Valencia but has also repped groups at Chelsea, Villareal, Liverpool, Fuham, Malaga, Madrid, Feyenoord and the Dublin Cup. At School level Sam represented North Devon in football and rugby and achieved some success in the English Schools athletics for the 400metres. At College Sam then went on to represent Monmouthshire County and won the Welsh Schools cup with Monmouth. Sam as a youngster started playing football in the Dutchy Cornwall League before moving to Monmouth Town in the Welsh Leagues. Sam has also continued playing 5-a-side Leisure Leagues, winning 3 titles and playing at the Nationals in Swansea and Birmingham. When moving to Cardiff Sam joined Taffs Well for a season and took up some time in coaching Celts FC, an under 14s football team in the Glamorgan Leagues. Still coaching Celts FC Sam has now divided his time into coaching and playing for Monmouth Town, a Welsh League team based in Monmouthshire. Currently Sam continues to rep with inspiresport around his PE Teachers role at Llandaff Cathedral School in Cardiff.
Ed Jones - Business Development Manager
After a brief playing career cut short by injury, Ed turned his hand to coaching at a young age, working with youth and men’s teams since the age of 18 including Exeter City, Colorado Elite and UWIC. He developed this passion into several business ventures in the UK and US. His most acclaimed, ‘United Football Schools Ltd’, winning Welsh Student Business Idea of the Year 2007. He is also technical director for Performance Soccer US, and has spent the last 8 summers developing soccer across the pond. Coaching developed into teaching when Ed became a lecturer for College Glan Hafren, UWIC and Newport University teaching sport and business, alongside endorsing young entrepreneurship both nationally and internationally through Welsh Assembly Government, Business Dynamics and other projects. Ed is currently completing an MA part time in Sports Development and Coaching at UWIC, following completion of a BSc (Hons) Sports Development degree there in 2006.
James Willmott - Business Development Manager
James is based in the South East of England looking after that area of the country for Inspiresport. He has a background in sports coaching starting nearly 15 years ago in the watersports industry predominantly teaching windsurfing. He is also a qualified rugby coach and is still clinging on to an amateur playing career having played at Manly in Sydney in 2000/2001 and many clubs across Surrey, Sussex and Kent over the years. He has worked in the leisure sales sector more recently before joining Inspiresport in 2009 as a Regional Development Manager. He is a keen sportsman who spends much of his spare time in the gym, on the water or on the golf course and he has developed a whole new appreciation for football having seen first hand how the professionals train and play.
Aneira Beament - Sales Executive
Aneira has recently joined the team after studying A levels at Bassaleg Sixth Form (one of which in Physical Education) and subsequently working for a short period in leisure management. She has a varied sporting background, having played tennis and netball at county level and captaining her county hockey side on several occasions. As well as having a welsh cap for hockey and being part of the welsh under 18’s hockey development squad in 2007. She still maintains a keen interest in hockey as her chosen sport and regularly plays in the South Wales 1st division. Aneira has been involved in youth coaching from the age of 16 through her involvement in Dragon Sports Coaching, leading on to coaching hockey and netball at Primary and Secondary School level. Working at inspiresport has definitely given her a new found love for “the beautiful game”, as well as an opportunity to be involved in youth sports development for the new generation.
