Ossett Town Juniors Chairwoman welcome...
Welcome to the 25/26 season
I'm very proud of having been associated with the club for the past 10 years, firstly as a coach and then as a committee member, to become Ossett Town Juniors' first female Chairperson.
I’m also extremely proud of the club, its achievements, and all our volunteers, including the Management Committee ( myself, Ady, Craig, Mel, and James), our age group managers, coaches, treasurers, line markers, tuck shop runners, and goal putter upperers.
Up until 2018, OTJ was the junior section of Ossett Town AFC
Then, in a historic move that made national headlines and got airtime on Sky Sports, the two senior names in Ossett merged, meaning Ossett Town & Ossett Albion senior teams ceased to exist, and Ossett United was formed.
This didn’t extend to the junior section, so suddenly what had previously been perceived as our safety net was gone, and the Juniors were on their own.
It’s a testament to some of my predecessors on the JMC that not only did we survive this, but we flourished.
The Juniors Management Committee was able to work with the FA and Wakefield Council to obtain a 30-year lease and huge amounts of funding to redevelop Springmill into the grassroots Wembley that we currently enjoy and is the envy of many others.
We have two other venues, Flushdyke School home turf for our U7 & U8 teams, and Haggs Hill council pitches where our U9 & U10 play.
Last season, we were able to provide a new storage cabin at Haggs Hill, and new folding goals have just been delivered in time for the new season.
Also new for 25/26 are our managers & parents briefing packs ( thanks to Mel Dawson ) and a bespoke developed website ( thanks to Jenny Nicholson), both to better communicate with our volunteers, parents & supporters, to share our grassroots club ethos, the first of two items on an extensive to-do /wish list that I’ve drawn up.
Ossett Town Junior Football Club prides itself on providing football to boys and girls of all ages and is run entirely by hard-working volunteers. From our Saturday morning Tots sessions, which allow for transition to train as U6 and form the nucleus for our U7 teams, through to our established U16 teams.
The tots Saturday morning sessions provide a platform for reception and year 1 children in the community to, first and foremost, enjoy football. Our coaches help the children develop their skills and understanding of the game, enabling them to progress to be part of a club team at U7 (year 2).
Richard Dawson and a group of coaches take these sessions. I would like to encourage more of our older players to assist with the training of our mini football teams. This will provide them with not only content for their future CVs but also some great life skills, experience, and reinforce our community across teams and age groups.
Ossett Town AFC was formed in 1936, and Ossett Town Juniors came to be much later, after being known as a succession of junior organisations in the local area. We now have teams representing all age groups from U7 to U16.
Our girls' section was restarted in 2020 with a handful of hopefuls. The first friendly was played in November 2021. We started the 22/23 season with 3 teams and continued to flourish, going into 25/26 with 9 teams across U9, U10, U12, U14, and U16 age groups.
Ossett Town Juniors has developed experience in competing and winning at the local level.
Some recent highlights include our U12 Storm winning the Div. 4 title last season.
And a young, old boy, 17-year-old Lucas Stephens, on the ESPFA pathway, made his debut for Ossett United over the summer.
We would love to hear about the sporting achievements of other ex Ossett Town players to add to our roll of honour.
We are an FA Accredited Club ( formerly FA Chartered standard), which means our club has met The FA's standards for providing a sustainable, well-run, and safe environment for players, coaches, and volunteers, demonstrating a commitment to the long-term health of the club and the sport.
We have launched a brand-new website with information about our teams, volunteers, and sponsors. If you have any questions or ideas, please feel free to contact me.
As a grassroots football club, it is important to work with the community and local schools. We will continue to do so and explore opportunities to mutual benefit.
I’d also like to thank our numerous sponsors whose kind support ensures the teams have new kits and training kits on a 2-yearly cycle. We are working to link all of these on our website.
OTJFC are very proud of the contribution that all our players make during the season, and this is recognised at the annual Presentation Evenings. Every member of our team receives a participation award.
Annually, we also make special club awards. Recipients last season included 2 long-serving committee members, Debbie Ackroyd & Anthony Noble, who have stepped down, to Ben Andrassy, a true Club Legend who has been with us from age 5 and, having finished his OTJ grassroots playing career, has trained our tots for the last few years. We also awarded the team of the season to the U15 Fundraising Committee for their work on getting the lads to Spain
As a club, we are always interested in hearing from anyone who wishes to become involved with the club in one capacity or another.
We only work because of our volunteers, so if you would like to experience being a coach, then we will give you all the support you need as you find your way forward, and support and encouragement to attend the courses required, all of which will be funded by the club.
Thank You & Welcome.
Ossett Town - Our Town where football and friendships flourish.
Zoe Hilton
Club Chairwoman
Ossett Town Juniors
07989 566212