MANY people deserve credit for getting Highworth Town Juniors where it is today.

That is the opinion of chairman Mark Collett, who appreciates that his award-winning club have been steered to their current destination by hundreds of key players.

The Juniors are anything but run of the mill. In addition to running a hugely popular six-a-side tournament at the Elms every summer, they were recently named FA Charter Standard Community Club of the Year for the south west, with the possibility of a national gong still to come.

Collett, who lives in Highworth and has been chairman since 2010, is keen that those who have played their part get the recognition that they deserve.

“It’s a huge operation. Clubs like ourselves wouldn’t be run without many volunteers - not just the coaches and managers - but the people behind the scenes pretty much 24/7 who make sure everything is OK,” he said.

“There’s a number of people I’d like to give credit to. One of the ones I would like to mention is Bernard Berry, who helped establish the club in 1964 and was one of the main people who managed to get us our current home, which is a fantastic facility.

“He was the chairman and until recently sat on our umbrella group. He’s now also almost like a president of the club and has got so much knowledge and experience. I’d also like to mention Frank Higgs, who helped to establish the club.

“The Haines family are heavily involved in the senior section and their father Rodney, who has since passed away, was one of the main reasons why the clubs came together. He was very keen to see that happen.”

So what does the future hold for Highworth Town Juniors? Conceivably, it could be even brighter than it appears on the surface.

There are plans in place to create a sporting hub in the town, which would see Highworth Town FC and a number of other clubs - including those for cricket and tennis - share one central facility.

Understandably, the 39-year-old Collett is very enthusiastic about better facilities, although the current feeling in Highworth is a rough 50-50 split based on a recent consultation.

“From the football club’s perspective it would help us improve our faciltiies,” he said.

“We are quite keen to see that sporting hub come off because that will help the football club.

“At the moment we are waiting to find out if Highworth Town Council are going to go with the plans or not.”

A BRIEF HISTORY

ALTHOUGH not technically a club in its own right, Highworth Town Juniors effectively deserves that status due to the size of its operation and the fact it has its own committee.

Formed in 2008 following the merger of Highworth Town and Highworth Juniors, Highworth Town Juniors has 23 boys’ teams, two girls’ teams and one disability team.

Children from as young as four years old can join and teams run from under seven level right through to under 17/18s level.

AWARD WINNERS

HIGHWORTH Town and Highworth Town Juniors recently won the FA charter standard community club of the year award for Wiltshire.

Following on from that, they also won the equivalent gong for the south west, taking in counties as far afield as Devon and Cornwall.

As a result, the club now takes on six other regional winners for the national title with the overall victors being announced at Wembley on Sunday, August 11.

The awards Highworth have received recognise the club’s excellence in a number of areas, mainly relating to its organisation and levels of professionalism.

Areas covered include having a set number of teams and providing a safe and effective environment for players and volunteers.

Highworth Town Juniors will celebrate winning the south west award with a commemorative photograph at the County Ground on Saturday, with players, coaches and parents invited.