Meet The Team

James has spent the last 15 years working in the 3rd sector and was one of the co founders of 3SG. James has a wealth of experience working with charities in Bath and North East Somerset and is also a long term Bath City fan having first watched games at Twerton Park back in 1999.

Geoff has been working for the Foundation for 4 years with funding for his role through St Johns Foundation. Geoff previously worked at Bristol City (13years) Bristol Rovers (1year) and Weston-super-Mare AFC (5years), helping to develop and deliver their community coaching programmes. Having completed a university degree in Sports Science at Exeter University, he quickly developed a passion for coaching and helping to support and improve choices and lifestyles through the power of football. This has continued throughout his various roles and believes that the work we do can make a huge impact on the communities we work in across all ages. Geoff has been a Tutor and Coach Mentor for the FA for 13 years and continues to offer support to a variety of coaches across the South West.

Emily has been working with Bath as a community coach for three years and has recently taken on the role of Women’s and Girls Officer. In 2017 she completed a Foundation Degree in Community Coaching at Bristol City through USW alongside working for the club as a community coach since 2015. Emily has also worked for the Gloucester FA coaching girls in the Advanced Coaching Centre. Emily has said ‘I am excited to use my experience within Community Coaching to specialise in increasing girls football within the Bath area and see how much of a difference we can make’.

Paul started coaching with Fulham Football Club in the Early 2000s, however, due to a serious knee injury, had to stop after just six months of working in their community development office. On moving to Bath, he was introduced to Bath City Youth, a grassroots club, for which he started coaching (U6s). He started working for the Foundation in 2018 and over the last 4 years, he has been working on various projects, working from 5-6 year-olds in primary schools all the way up 79 year-olds in the Walking Football sessions. He is also now the Football Development Officer for Bath City Youth, and run a girls' U10s team and a boys' U11s team, which his daughter and son both play in.

Steve has been working for the Bath City Foundation since 2021 on a variety of different projects within schools. Steve has said ‘I believe it is essential that everyone has access and is given an equal opportunity to take part in sport to help with their health, wellbeing, social skills as well as developing other important life skills. I love that we can help to provide these opportunities at the Foundation’.

He completed a three year degree in community football coaching in 2020 through the University of South Wales and worked at the Bristol City Robins Foundation alongside his studies where he gained experience working on a number of different projects. Steve also holds the UEFA B qualification in football coaching and is hoping to finish the UEFA B in coaching goalkeepers in the next few months. Steve also holds the FA coaching disabled footballers qualification. 

‘I am looking forward to continuing my journey with Bath City Foundation and doing all we can to make a difference in the local community’.

Kelly joined Bath City FC Foundation in February 2023 as a Marketing & Communications Coordinator (Intern) thanks to funding from Bath Spa University, where she obtained a 1st class degree in Criminology with Psychology. Kelly has 10+ years experience as a football player at grassroots level. She has completed the FA Introduction to Coaching Football (Level 1) and Introduction to Futsal. She is a volunteer Media Officer for Bemerton Heath Harlequins Ladies FC and spent the 22/23 season in this role at Salisbury FC Women.

She has also completed a Level 2 qualification in Mental Health First Aid and Advocacy in the Workplace with North Warwickshire and South Leicestershire College.

Martin qualified as a coach in 2004 and joined the Foundation in October 2019. After leaving Bath University, where he was Vice-Captain of the University Football Club, Martin played for Larkhall Athletic before setting up Sportzcoach United with a friend and player/managing them to victory in the Bath City Knock-Out Cup at Twerton Park in its centenary year. He is a coach with a passion for ensuring that Football is a sport for everyone with an emphasis on developing the fundamentals of the game and promoting teamwork and respect.

George joined Bath City FC Foundation in June 2023. He previously completed his level 1,2 & 3 in Sports Coaching at college with Bristol City. George began volunteering with Bristol City Robins Foundation before becoming a paid coach. He has experience in working with those with disabilities and has worked on mental health and wellbeing projects. He has recently started studying Community Coaching with The University of South Wales. George has completed The FA’s Level 1 in Football Coaching and is completing the Level 2, along with the Introduction to First Aid in Football.

Luke joined Bath City FC Foundation as a participant in the Bath Mind Football Sessions back in the summer of 2022. He began assisting in football sessions throughout the week after forming a good relationship with coaches Geoff Stevens and Paul Benjamin. Luke has since completed his FA Playmaker and Level 1 (Introduction to Coaching Football). He is now coaching across various sessions every week including; Walking Football, Women’s Football, School sessions and Holiday Camps. He is a former football club captain and takes great pride in everything he does. He aims to help coach others to a level of football that they can be happy with and proud of. He plans to complete his Level 2 and further his coaching knowledge through other qualifications in the future.

Chris joined us in March 2023 working on Reconnecting Twerton and joined full time after gaining a BSc with first class honours in Community Coaching and Administration at the University of South Wales through Bristol City Foundation. Chris has the FA Disability football coaching qualification and is also a level two qualified coach both outfield and goalkeeping, Durning his time with Bristol City Foundation he coached the LGBTQ+ affiliate team Bristol City Panthers, alongside this he also worked for both the men's and women's side of the club including goalkeeper coaching in the boy's academy. As part of his studies Chris proposed and rolled out the successful mental wellbeing project Robins Talk where he worked alongside mental health charity Go Again in delivering a weekly football session designed to support and improve mental and physical wellbeing. In addition to this Chris is also a qualified Mental Health First Aider with a level two qualification in Counselling skills which he hopes to develop further. Since joining us Chris has become a qualified referee which he uses on our Man V Fat sessions and in local women's football. Chris has been involved in many projects since ending his career in sales and feels this has given him valuable experience of different workplace stresses and the affect they can have on individuals and families.

Ken Loach was born in 1936 in Nuneaton. He attended King Edward VI Grammar School and went on to study law at St. Peter's Hall, Oxford. After a brief spell in the theatre, Ken was recruited by the BBC in 1963 as a television director. This launched a long career directing films for television and the cinema, from Cathy Come Home and Kes in the sixties to Land And Freedom, Sweet Sixteen, The Wind That Shakes The Barley (Palme d’Or, Cannes Film Festival 2006), Looking for Eric, The Angels’ Share and I, Daniel Blake (Palme d’Or, Cannes Film Festival 2016).

If he's not bothering people about their yawning or their chosen shade of off white paint, he's likely on the Twerton Park terraces yelling at his beloved Bath City Football Club.

Rob is a career railwayman, having worked through a number of management positions up to Operations Director.  He is a father of three, a keen sportsman and nothing gives Rob greater pleasure than watching his children playing sport.  He has a real interest in mental health and its relationship with physical exercise.

Matt works for the University of Bath as Head of Postgraduate Careers and External Engagement in the School of Management and is responsible for the Foundation’s links with the University. A qualified UEFA B football coach, Matt enjoys helping deliver coaching activities for the Foundation as well as working with local adult and youth football teams in the South-West.

Lee is Chief Executive of Young Bristol, a leading Bristol based Youth Charity and was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of the City and County of Bristol in 2020. Lee is passionate about the use of sport has a positive engagement and development tool for children and young people. Lee is currently in his second spell as the Football Clubs Sports Therapist.

David is a solicitor specialising in corporate, commercial, information technology and intellectual property. He moved to Bath from a London law firm in 1995 and was Head of the Corporate team at Royds Withy King until his retirement in 2016. He is now a trustee of various charities and has a particular interest and expertise in good governance.

Kate has been involved with arts charity Bath Festivals for over six years and is now responsible for The Bath Festival and Bath Children’s Literature Festival literature programming – bringing established and new authors, illustrators and speakers to the city, as well as highlighting local Bath talent, to open up conversations and explore new ways of seeing the world. Kate is passionate about working with young people, loves the buzz of live events, and is always happy reading, dancing or exploring new places.

Andy works for local Bath charity Southside Family Project as a specialist team manager. He has previously worked in the social housing field in both the Bristol and Bath areas for nearly 30 years. Andy is a passionate advocate of empowering local people to make positive changes to their lives.

A keen fan of Bath City FC since 2015 , Andy is a member of the supporters club and is a regular on the terraces at Twerton Park. Describing himself as a goalkeeper of “dubious ability” Andy played for many years in local amateur football before retiring due to a serious injury.

Steve is a lifelong Bath City fan and first worked with the Foundation through the Reconnecting Twerton project, which was funded by his current employer. In his day job he manages a number of traincrew depots and managers, specialising in quality assurance of competence assessments.