James Riley was born and raised in Colorado Springs and played competitive youth soccer for the Chargers Soccer Club and Colorado Rush Soccer Club.  James currently resides in the Greater Seattle area with his wife, two beautiful daughters, and two Golden Retrievers. In his spare time, James values quality time with his family and friends and enjoys quality naps in his hammock.

James Riley had the great fortune of having some outstanding coaches in his life—coaches who inspired and breathed life into his journey. Therefore, he feels compelled to give back to this beautiful game as a coach to inspire, inform, and impact the next generation of soccer players to be good players, teammates, and, ultimately, good people.

With the MLS:

• Drafted 21st overall In the MLS SuperDraft

• Started over 250 competitive games in MLS.

• Orchestrated an eleven-year career in MLS that included (10) championship trophies.

• Director, Player Relations & Competition at Major League Soccer (2016-2018)

• Member of the Seattle Sounders' Broadcast Team

• Board Member, Rave Foundation

• Board Member, Washington Legends

As a coach:

• Founder | CEO, JR7 SOCCER - Elite Soccer Training & Mentorship focused on helping players develop the high-performance habits of college and professional soccer players.

• EPD (Elite Player Development), Head Coach  & Assistant Coach

• President | Director of Coaching | Head Coach, Bellevue Rush Soccer Club

As a youth, himself:          

• Played competitive youth soccer for the Chargers Soccer Club and Colorado Rush Soccer Club

• Played ODP, made State and Regional teams multiple times, and was selected to the National Team Pool.

• Received multiple D1 athletic scholarship offers and interests from top 25 schools including Duke, UCONN, Santa Clara, UCLA, Notre Dame, Harvard, Brown, Yale, Air Force Academy, and Creighton just to name a few.

• Earned a full athletic scholarship to Wake Forest University. Started 79 out of 82 Games. Captained the team during his senior year, the #1 NCAA Division I ranking.