BETTER • EVERY • DAY
ELITE COACH AND PLAYER DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST
BETTER • EVERY • DAY
ELITE COACH AND PLAYER DEVELOPMENT SPECIALIST
ABOUT
James Thomas is an elite women’s football coach and high-performance leader with more than 25 years of experience across professional clubs, international football and national talent pathways.
His personal approach to how he works, to his own learning journey, and to the development of those he works with, is with a relentless desire to be BETTER • EVERY • DAY and his work is grounded in a player-first philosophy, shaped by clear standards, strong leadership and the deliberate creation of environments where players, coaches and teams are able to perform, learn and thrive under pressure.
Alongside his coaching and leadership roles, James is widely respected for his contribution to coach education, talent identification and performance culture, regularly sharing insight across professional, educational and media platforms.
CAREER
James Thomas has held key roles at Bristol City Women FC in both coaching and leadership roles across two spells at the club, Gwalia United FC as Head Coach, and is currently Academy Manager at Newcastle United Women FC.
Internationally, he contributed across Wales Women’s U17, U19, and Senior squads before serving as Head Coach of the Trinidad & Tobago Women’s National Team.
He has also supported The FA England Women & Girls Elite Talent Pathway as a Talent Reporter, helping identify future elite players for the National team age groups and as a lead coach on the National Girls Advanced Coaching Centres program.
James is widely respected for developing players, coaches, and high-performance environments, and for his insight in coach education, talent identification, and performance culture.
QUALIFICATIONS
COACHING
COACHING
COACHING
THE UEFA / FAW
UEFA A LICENCE
COACHING
COACHING
COACHING
THE UEFA / FAW
UEFA ELITE YOUTH A LICENCE
COACHING
COACHING
COACHING
THE FA
YOUTH AWARD
COACHING
TALENT ID
COACHING
THE FA
EFFECTIVE COACHING IN THE FEMALE GAME AWARD (ECFG)
TALENT ID
TALENT ID
TALENT ID
THE FA
ADVANCED PRINCIPLES OF TALENT ID & DEVELOPMENT IN FOOTBALL
LEADERSHIP
TALENT ID
TALENT ID
THE LMA / LCA
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AWARD
LEADERSHIP
LEADERSHIP
LEADERSHIP
THE LMA / LCA
LMA 360° AWARD
MEMBERSHIP
LEADERSHIP
LEADERSHIP
ASSOCIATION OF SPORTING DIRECTORS
EXECUTIVE MEMBER
MEMBERSHIP
LEADERSHIP
MEMBERSHIP
THE LEAGUE COACHES ASSOCIATION
(THE LCA)
MEMBER
COACHING & LEADERSHIP
