SEAN CASEY – Owner & Founder
Sean Casey worked in education as a coach, administrator, and teacher for fourteen years. He began his coaching career at Tufts University as an assistant men’s basketball coach in 1995. In 1998, at 27 years old, he became one of the youngest head men’s basketball coaches in the country at Curry College in Milton, MA.
During his time coaching in college, one of the most important parts of his job was recruiting student athletes. Not only did he evaluate students athletically, but he worked with Admission officers looking at the prospects’ academic viability.
In 2003, Sean was named the Boy’s Athletic Director at George School, a co-educational day and boarding school in Newtown, PA. Also at George, he taught physical education classes, coached girls’ cross country for two years, and was the boys’ basketball coach for all five years. He helped place many student athletes in college. Sean also helped create the position of athletic/admissions liaison where he helped identify qualified student athletes for the school.
After working in both the boarding school and college communities, Sean is well qualified to help assist families in finding the correct school academically and athletically.
MICHAEL PLANSKY – Senior Consultant
Prior to taking on the role of athletic director at Marblehead High School, Michael Plansky has twenty two years of experience in education, including eight as a high school athletic director. He has the distinction of participating in the NCAA tournaments at every level in basketball: Division I(University of Iowa, 1997), Division II (St. Michael’s College, 1999) and Division III (Endicott College, 2004 – 2005). Michael was also an assistant coach at Brandies University as well as the head coach at Salve Regina University. Having coached at every level had allowed him to pass on his insights regarding the college admissions process as it pertains to athletics. While at Marblehead High School, Michael has helped over 70 student athletes continue their athletic careers at over 40 different college institutions.
Michael completed his six year head coaching career with 116 – 49 record including six Commonwealth Coast Conference Championships and three CCC Coach of the Year awards. While at the University of Iowa, he completed his masters in Sports Psychology. Michael holds a Bachelors of Arts (Mathematics) from Fairfield University where he played on the basketball team for four years as well as catcher on the baseball team.
Founder & President of www.yourewithus.org
ERIC SIMONELLI – Consultant
Eric has an extensive background in both college athletics and admissions. The all time leading scorer in men’s basketball in Endicott College history and member of their Hall of Fame, Eric has spent the last ten years is in the college admissions office at the University of Rhode Island, where he’s read thousand of applications and conducted many interviews. Prior to that Eric was an assistant men’s basketball coach at Keene State College, Salve Regina University, and Roger Williams University. Eric has also spent the last seven years as a head varsity basketball coach at the Prout School and La Salle, both in Rhode Island, where he’s had incredible success and assisted many student athletes in the college process.
JIM FEMIA – Financial Consultant
As a professional financial aid consultant who has worked with parents of high school students and college advisors for the past several years, Jim brings to Scholar Athlete Consulting his invaluable professional experience. As a parent of both a high school and a college student, Jim also brings a personal perspective on the family dynamics inherent to the coaching process.
Jim is a Certified College Planning Specialist (CCPS) with the National Institute of Certified College Planners (NICCP). He holds a BA from Villanova University and is both a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC) and an Accredited Asset Management Specialist (AAMS) through the College for Financial Planning. Jim is also a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA).
BRENDAN DONAHUE – Consultant
After concluding a collegiate playing career at Middlebury College and prior to becoming the Director of Coaching at the Lexington United Soccer Club, Brendan spent over a decade coaching at the collegiate level. After assistant men’s soccer coaching stints at both Tufts University and Vassar College, Brendan was named the head coach at Curry College. In a three year period, he revamped a dormant program into a conference contender. Coach Donahue then made the jump to Division I by becoming the first assistant at Northeastern University and later served as Acting Men’s Coach for the program. Brendan has served as on the Mass Youth Soccer Instructional Staff and been a head coach in the MA Olympic Development Program (ODP). Over the years, Brendan has placed numerous student athletes at programs around the country with his various college coaching connections.
NEIL MARTIN – Consultant
As a collegiate squash player, Neil was a four-year varsity letter winner at Yale University. At Yale, Neil was All-Ivy First Team selection as well as being named the most valuable player on the team in his final year.
A highly recruited athlete from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Neil has a wealth of experience in the college application process. Collegiate squash is growing at an alarming pace with varsity programs opening at a number of leading national universities. As a Yale graduate, and current squash professional, Neil is perfectly placed to guide students through the college process and ensure they give themselves the best chance at success.