Jamie Richards will be taking his first steps into coaching during the campaign ahead having taken on a player-coach role at Pitching In Southern League Division One South outfit, Willand Rovers.
The 30 year-old has a wealth of playing experience under his belt having come through the youth ranks at Plymouth Argyle and playing a handful of senior games for the club before embarking upon a career in the non-League game that has seen him turn out for the likes of Torquay United, Truro City - where he earned cult status during almost 300 League outings - and Tiverton Town.
His know-how has proved a vital ingredient on and off the pitch since he arrived at Silver Street almost two years ago and now he is looking forward to being part of the coaching staff.
“I’m really excited to get going with the new role,” he told us. “We’ve already been very busy as a management team recruiting players and improving some small details away from the pitch, that hopefully will give us the edge next season.
“I’m extremely passionate about coaching, and have been for a long time. It makes up a big part of my day job, and is something I love doing. I’m keen to learn from the Gaffer and other coaches here and hopefully my input can help bring us some success.
“In terms of next season, it’s about progression again. We all know that things take time and success doesn’t just happen overnight. We want to continue to make some real positive steps both on and off the pitch, and see where that can lead us.
“The season just gone was full of ups and downs. We targeted a place in the top half going into the campaign and whilst that didn’t quite come to fruition in the end, there were still plenty of positives to take from the season.
“This is a relatively new group with a lot of lads who have made the step up from lower levels. They are really keen to challenge themselves and we’ve seen some impressive moments from them, so we know that there is definitely potential within this group.
“I’ve been impressed with the overall standard of Division One South, to be honest. There are a lot of good teams involved and I think that is the case with non-League football generally these days. There’s a positive trend and the standard is improving all of the time.
“There are a lot of teams at our level who would have no problems coping in the League above, so our task is to push on into the top half of the table and take things from there.”
IMAGE: Willand Rovers FC
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