James Meara

Jim Meara
Personal information
Full name James Stephen Meara
Date of birth (1972-10-07) 7 October 1972 (age 52)
Place of birth Hammersmith, England
Position(s) Midfielder

James Stephen Meara (born 7 October 1972) is an English former footballer who played for Watford and Doncaster Rovers as a midfielder.[1]

Biography

He was born in Hammersmith, West London and lived there until the age of 9 when he moved out to Hertfordshire. He joined Watford as a 10 year old at their academy and progressed through the years to the age of 16. As a 16 year old he was involved in the squad that won the FA Youth Cup in 1989, beating Manchester City in the final. The next year he was offered a two-year full-time Academy Player position at Watford which he accepted.[2]

After the two year academy contract Meara signed and played as a professional at the club for the next three years. He made his professional debut away at Tranmere Rovers FC in the 1992-93 season. At the end of his fourteen-year association with the club he signed a two-year contract at Doncaster Rovers. The following years Meara played semi pro in England and acquired his coaching licenses.[3]

In 2002, he moved to America. He has served as Regional Director at MLS Camps, held Director of Coaching Positions at youth soccer clubs and coached at the Olympic Development Program and PDL level. He serves as the co-founder and co-president at Pittsburgh Soccer in the Community, a non profit organization. He is currently an academy director for USL Pro Club Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Meara is also a partner with the former West Ham United and Manchester City player Ian Bishop in the soccer consultancy company Blue Moon International. He is also the founder of ZoneKone LLC, a sports training product.[4]

References

  1. ^ "James Meara profile". Archived from the original on 11 November 2003. Retrieved 13 November 2016. James was signed from Watford by manager Sammy Chung, making fourteen appearances in the rest fo [sic] that season
  2. ^ James was a trainee at Watford in 1991 and made two appearances before heading north to Doncaster Rovers Archived 12 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 13 November 2016
  3. ^ James Meara is the coaches who signed on to help the players achieve those goals Retrieved on 13 November 2016
  4. ^ Blue Moon International LLC is a soccer consultancy group run by two former professional players Ian Bishop (Man City & West Ham) and James Meara (Watford) Retrieved on 13 November 2016