Cockerham Juniors Football Club: 

CJFC was founded to provide an opportunity for children of primary school age, within the village and surrounding areas, to experience the joys of our national game. Now in its twelfth year, it has grown to the stage where it can offer these children a seamless path right through to senior level, following the formation of a new partnership with Garstang FC.

In 1997 Cockerham Parish Council ran an initiative to introduce members of the community to a wide variety of sports. A range of sample sessions were provided at the village hall, covering many activities.  A junior football coaching session run by sports students from Lancaster and Morecambe College was greeted with much enthusiasm from the young players who attended.  Gill Walsh, the then chair of the parish council and the motivating force behind the sports initiative, put out a request to parents within the village to take up the mantle and provide regular football coaching sessions and so CJFC was born.

Initially Saturday morning sessions were run by Peter Walling and Paul Andrews with a regular attendance of around a dozen children, ranging in age from eight to eleven. These sessions were quite informal and involved basic skills training, followed by a short match.

As the popularity of the embryonic club grew, it was supported by more parents joining the coaching staff including Mike Eccles, Mike Thornton and John Charnley, with the Parish Council funding the purchase of basic training equipment. The club was always blessed with the free use of the sports field, which is left in trust to the village, specifically for the benefit of local children. Over time the training sessions progressed into friendly matches against local school teams and junior clubs.  In the year 2000, the club formerly entered teams of under elevens and under twelve’s into the Lancaster and Morecambe seven-a-side league.  The club immediately gained a reputation within the league for fair play, good spirit and friendly enthusiasm, which resulted in some great on pitch performances against much larger, well established clubs. The principle aim of the founder members and indeed the Club today is to  provide the opportunity for children of all abilities, to play football, establish lasting friendships, and have fun, rather than to win at all costs.

This friendly community spirited approach has seen the club grow rapidly to its current level, catering for the full spectrum age groups at junior level, whilst enjoying considerable success both on and off the pitch.

The club is now highly respected within the North West football community and recently became one of the first junior clubs in the region to be awarded an enhanced Charter Standard rating from the FA, acknowledging the policies of ethics, quality of coaching and secure structure that the club has achieved under the stewardship of the Management Team.  Stalwarts in this achievement have been Dave and Carol Graham who joined the Club in 2002 and 2003 respectively.  Their combined efforts culminated in the Club achieving the F.A. Chartered Standard Award in 2004, which in turn lead to the Club being recognised as the Lancashire Chartered Standard Club of the Year for 2005.  The enhanced Chartered Standard Development Status was awarded in 2007.  Links with the wider community are well established. An official link to Preston North End F.C. provides Soccer Schools and other benefits from time to time and the Club has links to the local schools of Cockerham , Forton and Out Rawcliffe.   The Club assisted Out Rawcliffe School in achieving the Chartered Standard Schools Status.  Club membership currently includes about 140 players and twenty coaches, all of whom are required to achieve FA Level One status, or above within their first twelve months of operation

Cockerham Junior FC has taken the decision to build on this foundation and to accept the invitation to act as a partner club to Garstang FC, providing the opportunity for the young players to progress seamlessly from junior into senior football. This liaison will benefit both clubs on many levels and create a stable future for football within the community. 

The Daniel Lawson Trophy:

Daniel Lawson, who so tragically died in a road accident on the 17^th April 2007, was a founder member of Cockerham JFC and one of the older members of the initial group of players. He was a fine lad and a talented footballer and embodied all the principals that the club has drawn success from, in particular in his unselfish and helpful attitude towards the younger or less able players in that initial group. The Lawson family has donated a trophy in Daniels honour as an annual award for someone associated with the club who has shown outstanding personal qualities.

Winners:

Oliver Lawson – 2008
Harvey Brown – 2009

Presentation Night Winners:

The Club marks the conclusion of each season with a presentation evening, when both the achievements of the teams and individual players are recognised.  Each Team player is presented with a trophy in recognition of their contribution to the season and each team awards trophies to individual players in the following categories; Managers Player of the Year, Players Player of the Year and Most Improved Player of the Year. The first Club Presentation Event took place at the end of the 2002/03 season.

The individual recipients are detailed in the respective Team Pages.  However there are now players no longer with the Club who have been award recipients in the past. Their achievements are therefore recognised in this section.

Managers Player of the Year:
2002/03  Alex Kaylor
2003/04   Joe Corless
2004/05  Thomas Ayrton & Catherine Foy
2005/06  Jack Ayrton
2006/07  Sam Ayrton
2007/08  Jack Benn

Players' Player of the Year:
2002/03 Shaun Thornton
2004/05  Danny Hall & William Brayfield
2005/06  Thomas Ayrton, Daniel White &William Brayfield
2007/08  Jack Ayrton

Most Improved Player:
2002/03  Sophie Eccles
2003/04  Daniel Wood
2004/05  Tom Walmsley &Miles Ibison
2005/06  Jack Farrer & Billy Sutcliffe.
2007/08  Robert Stewart