Courts, who played with Livingston, Cowdenbeath and East Fife, took charge when Kelty had hit a downturn of 20 games without a win in 2013.
However, recruiting a whole new squad, which includes former Blackpool and Dunfermline midfielder Stephen Husband, has created a side that has a goal difference of +130 from 22 wins this season.
Asked how far he could take them, Courts said: “I don’t want to put a limit on that because I think the key aspect of moving into the pyramid structure is that there’s limitless potential.
“We have given this community, a sense of pride, a sense of identity.”
Kelty’s population has shrunk by almost a third to 6,000 following the demise of the coal industry, but the football club have benefitted from £7m of council and business investment in facilities that include a new artificial playing surface and a main stand with seating for 350 to be built this summer.
Co-chairman, Ian Thomson, believes his club had outgrown a junior set-up he believes is struggling to compete.
“There is a ceiling,” he said. “To win the East Super League, as we did, two years out of three, there’s nowhere to go.
“We had a successful time in the juniors and we loved every minute of it. However, in the pyramid, you have the chance of moving further up the tree.”
And Thomson suggests the senior switch has brought a “freshness” to their fixture list and his side regularly attract attendances of around 400 fans – roughly comparable to League Two.
Several of their former East Region rivals, like Bonnyrigg Rose and Camelon, are now believed to be considering their own applications to join the pyramid structure.
Less than three miles down the road from Kelty, Cowdenbeath are facing a play-off to preserve their place in League Two, but Thomson would rather avoid a Fife derby in the Lowland League next season.
“We want all the Fife clubs to do well and we’re trying to help, along with other clubs, to raise the £135,000 that’s well documented is needed to save them,” he said.
