Coaches

CHRIS RAMSEY MBE

SIG Accelerator Coaching Director

Chris is a former professional footballer who played and coached in all four professional divisions in England. His coaching career spans more than 30 years. At Tottenham Hotspur, he was a co-architect of a world-class player development program with the current FA Technical Director John McDermott. He progressed to become the first team coach where he assisted Tim Sherwood and Les Ferdinand in the Premier League.

As Regional Director for the FA, he worked with the England national youth teams from U16 to U20, and is the first Black male coach of an English National team.

For nine years Chris worked at Queens Park Rangers, in a variety of roles under Director of Football Les Ferdinand. He became the first team manager during their time in the Premier League and Championship. His most current role included overseeing the club’s technical program as Technical Director / Head of Coaching, serving as the bridge between the Academy and first team.

MANISHA TAILOR MBE

SIG Accelerator Featured Coach

Manisha is the Assistant Head of Academy Coaching for Queens Park Rangers, the first woman of South Asian heritage in such a position in all of English football. She has also worked as a scout for Brentford. At the invitation of Chris Ramsey, Manisha began volunteering at the Queens Park Rangers Academy, working as Assistant Coach of the club’s Under-9s team. She started working full-time with QPR after applying for the Premier League’s Elite Coach Apprenticeship Scheme.

Tailor’s second book, Dream Like Me: South Asian Football Trailblazers, was published in 2022. She also runs a company called Swaggarlicious, which carries out various initiatives in the fields of mental health, diversity and equality.

JENNA SCHILLACI

SIG Accelerator Featured Coach

Jenna is the Women’s Academy Operations Manager for Tottenham Hotspur, members of the Barclay’s Women’s Super League. She retired in 2020 as captain of the team, after 12 seasons. A set-piece specialist, she started all but one of Spurs’ FA Women’s Championship games in 2018/19, scoring two goals.

Jenna also works for several media outlets including the BBC and Sky TV. She is the co-founder and CEO of NEXT-JEN, which aims to empower the next generation of female players through confidence building, access into pro football world’s inside knowledge and by providing fun and educational online and in-person coaching sessions.

Executive Director

DALE HELFRICH

Coach Helfrich leads the event with 30+ years experience as an innovative soccer administrator, coach, and teacher. A former college coach of 13 years at a variety of levels, including five seasons at the NCAA Division I level as an Assistant Men’s Soccer coach at the University of Louisville and Western Kentucky University, while directing the camps and clinics for these schools. Coach Helfrich recently ended nine years as the Boys Soccer Coach at Trinity High School in Louisville, Kentucky, posting a 150-26-15 career record. His teams spent many seasons ranked nationally, including his 2018 team, ranked #3 by the United Soccer Coaches. He has helped send many players to college programs throughout the country and coached Gatorade Players of the Year. He was the General Manager of the Thoroughbreds Soccer Club. Coach Helfrich teaches at Trinity High School and serves as the Co-Chair of the Health and Physical Education Department. He holds several coaching licenses, including the United States Soccer Federation “A” License, the US National Youth License, the NSCAA Advanced National Diploma, the United Soccer Coaches High School Diploma, and is a Level 1 Youth Fitness Specialist from the International Youth Conditioning Association.

Meet the SIG Girls Accelerator Team