Gledhill takes over as head women's soccer coach

With preseason practice just around the corner, Holmes Community College has named a new women's soccer head coach as James "Gleddy" Gledhill, 30, takes over the reins.

This past fall, Gledhill served as assistant coach for the men's team at Holmes Community College and helped lead them to the best record in school history which included a North Division Championship and the right to host the MACJC State Tournament at Freedom Ridge Park in Ridgeland, the Bulldogs' home park. The Bulldogs led the MACJC in scoring with an average of 3.3 goals a game and led their division in least goals against with an average of 1.3 per game.

"It's a fantastic opportunity for me," Gledhill said. "It's something that I've always wanted to do. I'm sure I'll have lots of questions or queries this first year, but I think I'll have lots of support to help me through this first year."

The Lady Bulldogs, under the direction of men's head coach Matt Convertino last season, had a successful season as well finishing No. 2 in the North Division and also played in the MACJC State Tournament at Freedom Ridge Park in Ridgeland.

"It's going to be good to put my theories and ideas into this team, and I look forward to being held accountable for the success of this program," Gledhill said. "The players are excited, and I'm looking for leadership from the sophomores and freshmen." The Lady Bulldogs return three players from last year's team.

The Lady Bulldogs will report to camp in early July. "Right off the bat, this gives us an advantage," he said. "We will take July to build team chemistry and get into good habits. We will work on organization and getting into the right places."

Gledhill plans for the Lady Bulldogs to be out in the community as well as in the classroom and on the soccer field competing in games. Some places the team will be involved will be the Top Soccer Program, Stewpot and local recreation leagues.

"I want us to give back as much as possible," he said. "This will help us build team chemistry as well."

Originally from Huddersfield, England, Gledhill is not new to the sport of soccer in the Jackson area. Since 2006, he has and is currently the Academy director of coaching for the Jackson Football Club, where he is responsible for the player development of all players 4-18 years old. At JFC, Gledhill has successfully coached teams as young as u11 boys all the way up to u18 Girls teams. Gledhill is also one of few coaching instructors for soccer coaching development in the state of Mississippi.

Prior to coming to Holmes, Gledhill was the assistant coach for the men's program at Mississippi College, where he remained until 2009. The team was 38-14-7 and was in the Southwest Conference finals in 2006 and semi-finals in 2007. From 2003-06, he was the assistant men's coach at the University of Mobile, where the team had a record of 35-19-4 and they won three Gulf Coast Athletic Conference championships, one regional championship and was nationally ranked in the top 10 all three years.

As a player, Gledhill was able to play professionally for the Wilmington Hammerheads and in 2005 lead them to the league playoff semi-finals.  That year, he was the fans player of the year, team leading goal scorer, and was part of the all-league team of the year. 

While at the University of Mobile, Gledhill was a two-time All-American and won a national championship in 2002.  He also played one season at Fairfield University, where he lead the conference in goals and helped the team to their first MAAC conference final.

Gledhill has obtained the following coaching licenses; USSF A License, UEFA B License, NSCAA Premier Diploma and National Youth License.

The Lady Bulldogs begin play on Aug. 21 at 2 p.m. versus Mississippi College in an exhibition game in Clinton.