Barnard Castle Youth FC is celebrating promotion off the field.
The fast-growing club has secured FA Two-star Accredited Club status.
That’s a testament to huge progress in expanding the number of teams and establishing a player pathway from U8s to U18s in the club’s mixed teams. It’s a process driven by hard work from coaches, volunteers and committee members who dedicate their time and energy to the club.
Secretary Chris Vasey, who began coaching 11 years ago and took over the secretary’s role in 2020 when Darren Harrison became chairman, reflected on the changes over that time.
“When I started, we only had three teams,” he said. “They each had a different kit, so we looked like three away teams when we came to play. We were using some old plastic goals that sagged in the middle.
“Catherine Spence did a fantastic job to build on that and get us one-star accreditation and since then, we’ve tried to push on with more teams.”
Today, Barney Youth has 11 teams – ten mixed and one U12 girls – with 171 players and 24 volunteer coaches. That makes it one of the biggest clubs in the Teesside Junior Football Alliance, where it has a team in every age group.
The club is also a Wildcats centre for girls aged 5-11 and has ties with Michael Donaghue’s Baby Ballers programme, which introduces football to 4-7-year-olds.
At the top end of the age range, many of the club’s U18s are already getting a taste of men’s football with Barnard Castle FC’s Reserves in the North Riding League. Although the youth club at Green Lane School and the senior team at Tens Field are separate organisations, there are close ties between the two as football in the town goes from strength to strength.
“We probably used to be the third sport in Barney behind cricket and rugby but now I think we’ve pushed up to that kind of level,” Mr Vasey added.
And there are plans to grow even more. The wish list includes another mixed U8 team and a U8 girls team.
In the new year, the club is looking forward to working with Teesdale School and Staindrop Academy to promote its Squad Girls scheme for 12-14-year-olds.
And more volunteers are always welcome to help the club grow.
Volunteer coaches are encouraged to get FA certification, with an ambition to secure the Introduction to Coaching certificate for all new recruits within their first year.
Securing Two-star Accreditation helps with this process as it brings a closer relationship with the FA via the Better Everywhere scheme.
“We’ve had the FA out to look at our facilities and talk about what we need,” added Mr Vasey. “That’s for the town in general, not just us.
“There might be a way to go before we can get a 3G pitch, for example, but now the FA is willing to start talking about that. We’re also trying to refurbish our changing rooms with help from the Football Foundation and all that is a lot easier when you have two stars.”
To join Barnard Castle, contact Chris Vasey at [email protected] or 07384186574 for details.
