James brings a wealth of experience with him having coached at professional clubs such as Dundee FC & Leyton Orient FC as well as Dagenham & Redbridge FC, Kirkcaldy YM, Kelty Hearts, Burntisland Shipyard, Shield Academy and Blairgowrie Juniors. He has held a variety of positions including Head Coach, Youth Development Offcier , GK Coach and Academy Coach. James is also a UEFA B Licence as well as UEFA Specific Goalkeeping Licence holder.

After injury ended his playing career at 16, James turned to coaching and was bitten by the bug. He explains " I absolutely loved working with the players and seeing them improve both as players and people, and it just went from there". His career to date has produced some fond memories. "Coaching in the USA and a very brief stint in the middle east were great experiences and working with some top level players. Working with Kelty Hearts was a great two years, first working in their title winning Super League side, and then working on the youth development side and seeing their U-18’s team win their U-19 league was brilliant".

"I’ve known Jason for a few years having worked with him before. He’d been telling me loads about the progressive and positive attitude throughout the club, and how it’s a great place for players to develop. When he invited me to come have a look, I jumped at the chance to see for myself, and it was clear pretty quickly he wasn’t wrong. I'm hoping to try and contribute to the positive atmosphere and progression at the club. As much as my main role is to support Jason and the first team, I’ll also be supporting the younger teams as required and helping with their development.
I’m studying towards the UEFA Youth Licence and a postgraduate psychology qualification this year, so hopefully that’ll add to what I can bring to the club going forwards".

"I’ve been massively welcomed to the club by everyone. I could see from the start it’s a really friendly set up, but has a high standard, competitive edge. The players are of a great standard but can see there’s a desire throughout to keep improving and progressing. Add to that the focus on development and it’s a great environment to work in".

James has also been delighted with the quality on show. "Seeing the group, you can see that all players are capable of producing something special for the team, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do in the coming season. I’m also looking forward to seeing the younger players develop and progress over the season, there’s a couple in the squad just now who could really surprise us in the next few weeks/months".

Lock will assist Jason McCrindle who added "throughout last season it was difficult to try and prepare training, games and generally manage the team. I had the U17s coaches Nathan, Robbie and Damon there when they could but I really needed consistency. That's why it's great having James on board. I've worked with him before and know what he can bring to the team. His sessions are always technical and tactical which will definitely help the players going forward this season, and it shows the clubs commitment by adding to the backroom staff ".