James Stewart Robert Kerr (born 13 November 1974) is a Scottish former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who played as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting ...
Swindon Town
Swindon Town Football Club is a professional football club based in Swindon, Wiltshire, England. The team currently competes in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. The club has played home matches at the County Ground sin ...
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 193 ...
. Kerr was forced into early retirement at the age of 27 due to a back injury.
Kerr was appointed to
Scottish First Division
The Scottish Football League First Division was the second tier in the Scottish football league system between 1975 and 2013.
History
The First Division was introduced in 1975–76 to replace the old Scottish Football League Division Two, as ...
club
Airdrie United
Airdrieonians Football Club is a Scottish professional football team in Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, who are members of the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) and play in Scottish League One. They were formed in 2002 as Airdrie Unite ...
as goalkeeper coach in August 2008, where he was part of the
Scottish Challenge Cup
The Scottish Professional Football League Challenge Cup,Lee Hollis who went on to play for
Motherwell
Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lana ...
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Football League (SFL). It was abolished in 2013, when t ...
side
Motherwell
Motherwell ( sco, Mitherwall, gd, Tobar na Màthar) is a town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Historically in the parish of Dalziel and part of Lana ...
in September 2009, where he was credited with developing current
Norwich City
Norwich City Football Club (also known as The Canaries or The Yellows) is an English professional football club based in Norwich, Norfolk. The club competes in the EFL Championship following their relegation from the Premier League in the 2 ...
and
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
goalkeeper
John Ruddy
John Thomas Gordon Ruddy (born 24 October 1986) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for club Birmingham City.
Ruddy began his career at Cambridge United, before signing for Everton as a 19-year-old. He spent five ...
, as well as West Ham and
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
goalkeeper
Darren Randolph
Darren Edward Andrew Randolph (born 12 May 1987) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Premier League club AFC Bournemouth and the Republic of Ireland national team. He has previously played for the Republic of ...
.
Kerr left Motherwell in December 2011 to become goalkeeper coach for
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...
side
Toronto FC
Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...
. During his time at Toronto, Kerr was responsible for recruiting and developing current Orlando City Number 1
Joe Bendik
Joseph T. Bendik (born April 25, 1989) is an American professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer.
Club career Clemson
Bendik grew up in Marietta, Georgia and attended Clemson Un ...
and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
international goalkeeper Quillan Roberts. Kerr also coached and prepared legendary Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar in Toronto for the
2014 FIFA World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting rig ...
in Brazil, which resulted in Cesar telling the world's press that Kerr was the best goalkeeper coach he has ever worked with. On 31 August 2014 Kerr left his position as Goalkeeper Coach of Toronto FC after Ryan Nelsen was fired as head coach. On 13 November 2014, Kerr was appointed as a Soccer Consultant to Toronto FC's parent company, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment.
On 24 December 2015, Kerr was named as first-team goalkeeper coach for
MLS
Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...
side Orlando City. He worked again with Joe Bendik, who then had an outstanding season. Bendik won the MLS "Save of the Week" a record 11 times, with Kerr receiving huge credit for repairing Bendik's confidence. On 8 December 2016 Kerr was promoted to the position of Director of Goalkeeping along with his position as First Team Goalkeeping Coach at Orlando City. One week later MLS side Vancouver Whitecaps asked for permission from Orlando City to speak to Kerr regarding the position of Head of Goalkeeping and First team Goalkeeper Coach after talks with Vancouver Kerr was appointed to the position on 5 January. Kerr enjoyed great success reaching the Western Conference semi final and the Concacaf Champions League Semi Final in 2017.
Kerr left Vancouver in 2018 when Carl Robinson was controversially sacked. Kerr was then reunited with Adrian Heath in 2019 with MLS Club Minnesota United and was appointed Head Of Goalkeeping/ First team Goalkeeping Coach and the club subsequently achieved its First Play off appearance.