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HUDDERSFIELD JUNIOR LEAGUE was established in 1973 but
Junior Football has been played in the Town for longer than
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Junior games are
recorded back in the 1880's and probably grew up alongside
the senior game, however, most were played on a friendly
basis and organised in the main by Church Sunday Schools
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The first structured
League games were played in the early 1920's when the Red
Triangle League brought together teams from Boys Clubs and
Youth organisations to provide a competitive League
structure.
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For
over 50 years the Red Triangle League was the only place
- other than schools - where young boys could test
themselves in competition and many of today's dads and
granddads foster fond memories of the League. |
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| As
a mark of respect, three of the Red Triangle
Championship shields are now used by the Huddersfield League
for the u16, 17 and 18 Leagues |
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By the early 70's the Red Triangle
League was struggling, young boys no longer attended Youth Clubs
and Sunday Schools in the numbers they did throughout the first
half of the century and the number of teams in the League was
dwindling fast. Sadly, but inevitably the League
folded in 1973 |
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While Junior
Football appeared to be in decline 2 men, Bill Dyson and Bob
Wagemans, realised a lot of youngsters still wanted to
play and so was born the Huddersfield & District Junior
Sunday Football League
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For the first 3 seasons only a handful
of teams competed in an under 14 section but by 1979 the League
had grown to include teams at u12, 14 and 16.... Stile Common and
Oakes were the dominant clubs in the early days.
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Over the next 10 years the League
continued to grow steadily and by the end of the 1980's over 100
teams were competing at ages u10 to u18.
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But it was the last decade of the
century which produced the biggest growth so far at junior level.
During the 1990's the Junior game expanded beyond recognition with
new teams emerging from almost every suburb and village and by
1992 most age groups had expanded to 2 divisions... by
1996 - 3 divisions... and with record entries
for season 2006-2007 many age groups will be playing across 4
divisions. |
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The introduction of Mini-Soccer produced
yet another leap in the number of teams playing football and today
the Huddersfield League boasts teams at all age groups from u7 to
u18 with over 570 teams competing every week providing healthy
recreation for some 8,000 youngsters. |
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Sponsors are now an essential element of
the game at all levels and Huddersfield became one of the first
sponsored Leagues in the area when Messrs GELPACK-EXCELSIOR agreed
to sponsor the League in 1988 - indeed the brand name became so
well known that the league has, for many years, been generally
referred to as the Gelpack League and it is under this name that
the league has appeared, not just locally but in National
newspapers, National radio and on Yorkshire Television
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After a wonderful 13 year run Gelpack
decided it was time to move on and so the search began for a new
sponsor. Several companies expressed an interest but when
the BUPA Hospital at Elland put their bid forward the choice was
easy.
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The
partnership of a major health company and junior
football began in the summer of 2000 but sadly, due to
relocation, BUPA decided to end its sponsorship after a
terrific five year run. |
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| As BUPA said goodbye
so RCD stepped in to fill the sponsorship gap. |
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| RCD (Ramsden Colne
Developments) might not be so well known to many people
but their 200 million pound regeneration scheme is soon set
to transform the Chapel Hill area of Huddersfield and the
league is happy to be associated with another positive
organisation which is bringing good things to the area. |
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Naturally, as more people play football
than ever before, the more it is necessary to monitor the welfare
of players and clubs alike - both for their own sakes and
for the benefit of the game........ The youngest age groups now
play small sided or 'Mini-Soccer'
and team managers are required to possess F.A approved
qualifications and undergo CRB (Criminal Record Bureax) checks
before taking charge of their teams.
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The Huddersfield League took it's own
steps to improve matters in 1998 with the introduction of a
Junior Coaching Scheme...
Funded with the help of SPORTS MATCH and
run in association with Kirklees Council providing professional
coaching for all players, clubs and team managers at all levels
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Season 2006 - 07 will see the
League take another step forward when all member clubs will have
achieved Charter Standard status. |
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Charter Standard is the Football
Association's kite mark for quality which requires clubs, team
managers and parents to meet certain basic requirements. In
addition all team managers must posses a Level 1 Coaching
certificate and all adults involved in junior football must
undergo a C.R.B (Criminal Records Bureaux) check to ensure they
have no convictions which might prove a danger to children. |
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As anyone who has been involved in a
voluntary organisation will know, maintaining such a rapidly
expanding League requires a great deal of dedication and
leadership from its working Committee..... In the early days Bill
Dyson and Bob Wagemans carried out most of the secretarial work
themselves and both were honoured with Life Membership of the
League in recognition of their efforts... Today a working
Committee of no less than 25 people is necessary to maintain the
high standards of the League
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As the new season gets under way the
game of soccer is changing - at all levels - and the Huddersfield
League will endeavor to be at the forefront of any improvements.
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