Stratford Town's James Fry: There's always a point where the coaching career will overtake the playing career
JAMES Fry is enjoying a new lease of life after hanging up the boots to focus on his coaching career with Stratford Town.
The 27-year-old is grasping his first major role in a first-team environment with both hands and is thoroughly enjoying working alongside Gavin Hurren and the rest of the management team after his playing career endured a “difficult few months”.
Fry, who had helped the Bards to their highest ever Southern Premier Central finish and Southern League Challenge Cup glory in the 2018-19 campaign, had followed former Stratford boss Thomas Baillie to Bromsgrove Sporting for the 2022-23 season.
He then dual registered with Midland League Premier Division strugglers Worcester City – two levels below Stratford – but it was when Baillie departed his position at the Rouslers that Fry’s outlook on his playing career changed.
“You never say never but I had a really rough few months and I think the plan is I’ll only play if I’m really needed but for me, the boots are hung up and I’m here to help Gav and the team,” Fry told the Herald.
“It’s not been an easy time because I went to Worcester to keep fit but then everything changed at Bromsgrove and I knew I wasn’t going to get back into the team for a multitude of reasons.
“There’s always a point where the coaching career will overtake the playing career and I’ve always said over the last few years that I cannot play and coach at the same time.
“I’ve had to sacrifice a lot to be in and around non-league with my full-time job because of the hours you have to do and then you have to ask yourself ‘is it worth it?’.
“I’ve got a young family at home so you have to think if all the effort is worth it for them and if it’s not then you have to evaluate your position. That’s the position I got into and when this job at Stratford came up, I knew it would help me in the long-term.
“I’m more than happy to put in the hours but I know those hours are going in for the lads and the club, the by-product is it will help me improve, but I’m not here to make up the numbers or be a yes man to Gav as he would say.
“I’m here to help him, check him and challenge him, and Gav will check and challenge my work.
“Hopefully we can bring out the best in each other and so far I’ve loved every minute of being here as a coach.”
The former Birmingham City midfielder works full-time as the head coach of the Championship side’s U15s squad and is on course to gaining his UEFA A Licence.
During his time with the Blues, Fry has gained valuable experience from the likes of Richard Beale – who now leads West Bromwich Albion U21s – and taking in the environment with the U18s on numerous occasions.
It’s these experiences that Fry hopes will help him thrive in the first-team picture at the Arden Garages Stadium.
“Getting a job in the first-team of a football club has been something I have wanted to do for such a long time and I’ve made no secret of that,” he said.
“It’s been high on my list of aspirations and coming back to Stratford, where everyone knows how I feel about the club, the chairman, the board and the fans, seemed the right place to gain that experience within a first-team environment.
“However, I think it’s more than that, I’m here to help the team win games and that comes with preparation, training and doing my bit from the side of the pitch.”
He added: “The coaching badges have served a purpose and from the minute I walked through the door at Birmingham all I wanted to do was learn. I’ve had so many different experiences and I believe the traits I’ve picked up over the last six or seven years I’ve been with the Blues are transferable.
“There’s a group at Stratford that wants to learn and they want somebody to put in the extra hours for them and give them the detail so that they buy into it, and I’m more than happy to do that.”
Fry is used to coaching those younger than him but with several experienced heads in the Bards ranks, including the likes of former Coventry City goalkeeper Liam O’Brien, non-league veteran defender Paul McCone and ex-Premier League player Carl Dickinson, is it easy to make them listen?
“The whole squad has bought into it straight away and I could not have asked for anything more,” said Fry.
“There are some very experienced lads here who have played at the highest level and it’s about managing the individual, that’s something that I’ve learned in my time at Birmingham.
“The picture is obviously a little bit different at first-team level but I’m not going to tell someone like Carl, who has played in the Premier League and Football League, something he doesn’t already know.
“Instead, it’s about getting the set-up around him right to enable him to do what he does best. That goes across all the team, the forwards, the midfield and the defence. It’s a work in progress but I’m happy with where the group has been going.”
It’s clear that Fry has got a smile back on his face and he admitted there’s no better place to have started his first-team coaching career than at Stratford.
“Everything happens for a reason and the timing of it was perfect,” he added.
“Even though I back myself it felt like I was stepping into the unknown a little.
“However, I’ve put in the work and I know what I’m capable of. I know the place inside out and I’ve got a good relationship with Jed (McCrory – chairman), the board, the fans and the players.
“Everything just fell into my lap, being at Stratford fits like a glove. As soon as Jed mentioned the opportunity to be a coach here it was something that I just could not get out of my head.”
