Anthony James
Head Coach
Wheeling (W. Va.) Jesuit, 1994
Fifth Year at YSU
10th Year Overall

    Anthony James is in his fifth year as the head soccer coach at Youngstown State. James was named the fourth head coach of the Penguins’ soccer program in February 2004.
The 2007 season showcased one of James’ most talented class of recruits. A total of nine new players joined the team, including standout forward Lauren Brennan. Brennan broke the school record for most points in a game with nine and tied the school record for most goals in a game with four. James used his defensive strategies to mold Carrie Wack into one of the top defenders in the league. Wack was honored for her tremendous efforts at the end of the season as she was named to the All-Horizon League Second Team.
The team was also honored by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) for maintaining a GPA of 3.0 or higher for the academic year with all players on the roster added into the final calculation. Under the guidance of James and academic advisor Susan Carfolo the team posted an overall 3.09 GPA.
In the 2006 season the team finished with the best record since James took over the program. James’ recruit class of freshmen were also ranked third in the Horizon League by soccerbuzz.com. Two of the freshmen, goalkeeper Caitlin Bodzioney and forward Jordan Gapczynski, were named to the Horizon League All-Newcomer team. Caitlin Lee was also the first Penguin in the history of the program to be named to the All-League First Team.
In his second year with the program, James’ squad showed tremendous improvement playing 14 games decided by two goals or less. Senior midfielder Sadie Brookman was named second-team All-Horizon League while Caitlin Lee made the all-newcomer squad.
As a group, YSU earned the NSCAA Team Ethics Award of Merit. The Penguins garnered a Silver Certificate, which is awarded to teams receiving fewer than five yellow cards during the season. Youngstown State had a Horizon-League low four yellow cards in 20 matches for the year.
In 2004, the Penguins improved throughout the year and picked up a late-season win over Cleveland State.
Prior to coming to YSU, James spent four seasons at Division II West Virginia Wesleyan College where he directed the Bobcats to a 55-25-3 record. In 2003, Wesleyan finished 16-3-2 overall and won its second West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship in three years. For his efforts, he received WVIAC Coach-of-the-Year honors in 2001 and 2003.
From 1997-2000 he was head coach at Wheeling Park High School where he directed his team to consecutive state titles in 1998 and 1999, while also making the semifinals in 1997. He was named West Virginia High School Soccer Coaches Association Coach of the Year in 1999.
Outside of the college coaching realm, he has been a Region I staff coach for the U.S. Olympic Development Program since 1998. He is also the founder and director of coaching for Soccer Vision Academy.
For the past three years, James has worked with the U.S. Soccer’s Under-14 Girls National Team pool camp in California. He also holds his UFSSF license.
James, a native of Port of Spain, Trinidad, began his collegiate coaching career by spending four years as the assistant women’s soccer coach for Wheeling Jesuit College. He earned an Industrial Engineering degree from Wheeling Jesuit in 1994 before earning his masters in Business Administration from the school in 1997. He presently holds his NSCAA National, Advance National and Premier Diploma. James is married to Andrea, who is the assistant sports information director at Carnegie Mellon University.