James joined the academy in 2004 and worked through the age groups before becoming a trainee in 2007. Then almost immediately, having just come on as a substitute, he broke a leg in a pre-season friendly at Crediton. Such was the severity of his injury that the match was abandoned as reported by the BBC: 

"Exeter City teenager James Berry is facing a long spell on the sidelines after breaking his leg in Wednesday's pre-season friendly against Crediton. The Grecians were leading 3-0, with Berry on the scoresheet, before he was brought down by Ben Harris, who was shown a straight red card. The match was abandoned to allow the 16-year-old to receive treatment.

After being released by City in 2010 James moved to RRFC Montegnée in Belgium before retiring the following year because of injury. James, who had been a promising 400m hurdler when at school, then studied law at Sunderland University before starting a legal career in 2015 initially in Manchester and later London and Basingstoke.