Barnard Castle Youth FC is kicking on to bigger and better things

Barnard Castle Youth Football Club is a success story well worth celebrating.

Thanks to the efforts of committed volunteers – and the enthusiasm of countless young footballers – the club has gone from strength to strength.

Anyone walking past Green Lane School on a matchday will witness games aplenty and more than a hundred parents, supporters and players enjoying the sport they love.

Two of the people instrumental in Barney Youth FC’s growth are Chris Vasey and Darren Harrison, and both are quick to stress just how much of a team effort running the club is.

“We’ve got 13 teams now, from U8s to an adult team that has joined the Darlington Sunday Invitation League,” said Chris, who paid tribute to a man who was a tireless supporter of youth football in Barnard Castle for many years.

“We’re carrying on the good work put in by Pat Estall.

“We’ve got a great bunch of coaches and a lot of them are lads who played for the town.

“We’ve got 190 players all registered to the club, including a girls’ team that plays on Saturdays, that’s going really well.”

It’s a far cry from the position the club was in the 2010s, as Darren points out.

“When we started about 14 years ago we were down to very few teams and very small committee, things weren’t looking good.

“The pitches here weren’t the best but we’ve got a groundsman now and the equipment, such as roll-on goals, is really good.

“In our junior section we go from U8s to U16s without any gaps, we’ve never been anywhere near that in the past.”

The cost of youth football is an issue, particularly in struggling communities, but Barney Youth FC keep expenses for parents to the absolute minimum.

“We try to keep the cost of the subs down,” said Darren, “and we make sure each player gets a nice home strip and away strip.

“What we’ve tried to do from day one is give the kids the best experience possible when playing for Barney.

“We have had some good sponsors,” he added.

“William Smith Group and AKV have both been involved in the club for a long time.”

The facilities at Green Lane are among the best in the region, with a large car park and fenced-off pitches linked by a new weather-proof footpath.

“We’ve invested in a tractor through the Football Foundation to cut the grass,” said Chris.

“We’ve now got a groundsman in who has a lot of experience.

“We’ve had support from Durham County Council, which has been very helpful.

“There are still things we’d like to improve, like our toilet facilities, we’d be very grateful if someone in the community could come forward to help us with that project.”

In addition to matches, the club puts on regular midweek coaching sessions for the players.

There’s a genuine sense of pride in Barney Youth FC and the dedication of the volunteers is there for all to see.

“I think the pitches are a big thing for me,” said Darren.

“When we first came here we didn’t have a groundsman so we had to mark up our own lines.

“Now, even the corner flags have a club badge on them and what we’re proud of is the number of away teams that come here and comment on the things that we have, like a purpose-built car park, that they haven’t got.

“On a Sunday morning there’s a food van here and there are six games going on – it looks great.”

• Anyone interested in supporting Barnard Castle Youth FC or has a child who would like to play football, contact Chris on 07384 186574 or email christopher.vasey@gmail.com