GRASSROOTS CLUB EFFORTS BRING SUCCESS.
Junior Football Club Making great strides to become a successful force and bring pride to community
Lostock Hall (Juniors) Football Club, situated just south of Preston, Lancashire, which was established in 1978 and was one of the founder members of the Central Lancashire Junior Football League, is making great progress in becoming one of the largest and most successful grassroots football clubs in the area.
The whole club has gone from strength to strength over the last few years, led by the dedicated committee and assisted by all managers, staff, parents and most importantly, the young players themselves!
The clubs role of honour has been extended greatly by winning several massive awards.
One-Two Magazine - November, 2013
The club has teams in the Mid Lancs. Colts Junior Football League, for boys and girls, from under 7 years through to under 10's. Teams range from under 11 to under 16's in the Central Lancs. Junior Football League and Lostock Hall SC is the club’s male youth team (under 18’s), who play their games in the Lancashire Sunday Football League.
The club also made history by introducing their very own girl's team, which showed to be so popular that they now have 5 all-female teams at the club! The female teams participate in the West Lancashire Girls League, the largest girls' football league in England and these teams cover the age groups u8’s, u10’s, u12’s, u15’s and Youth/u18’s.
In 2009, the club, led by Club Chairman, Steve Galloway, applied for FA Charter Standard, a quality mark for clubs and leagues. They were successful applicants and were awarded the Charter Standard Club mark.
Steve Galloway along with the Club Secretary, Darryl Cartwright, were invited to the South Ribble Sports Awards ceremony, which was held at Leyland Civic Centre to celebrate the achievements of the area's sporting heroes and the supporting clubs. Lostock Hall Juniors FC was presented by South Ribble with an award for achieving national recognition for their efforts.
In 2012, the club were again in attendance at the South Ribble Sports Awards, where they were winners of the South Ribble Community Club of the Year 2012 and then shortlisted for the Lancashire Sports Awards.
The club continued to grow and in the 2012/13 season, the club boasted 20 teams and an academy. This year, the club were winners of The FA’s Charter Standard Club of the Year 2013, a fantastic award of recognition for all at the club.
In the forthcoming 2013/14 Season, Lostock Hall Juniors will have a portfolio of 23 teams, an all-girls academy and a mixed academy.
Darryl stated that the club were making great progress and that "The whole club is providing a safe, fun and enjoyable environment for the children and young people of Lostock Hall and the surrounding areas. It is assisting the local community by providing somewhere for the children and young people to go, where they can socially interact and exercise, without hanging around streets, becoming bored and getting into mischief!"
Recently, the club have started an academy for girls in year 3 (as of Sept. 2013) to attend. Craig Attwood, the Academy Manager said “This is a great opportunity for the children to get involved at an early age to give them some basic skills, provide structure and teach respect and team discipline.”
Every volunteer at the club works really hard to provide a good quality of coaching and the club is always on the lookout for people to assist where they can. "The club is looking to recruit both male and female
volunteers, to help manage/coach teams. The club will assist the volunteers by applying for CRB clearance in the first instance, then any training that is required, such as the FA's coaching Certificate etc." said Darryl.
Players are also welcome to come along and join in training at Lostock Hall Academy and Brownedge St Mary’s RC High School. Different age groups train each evening and further details can be found on the club website, www.lostockhalljuniors.co.uk.
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