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 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 were David and Carol Graham who joined the Club in 2002 and 2003 respectively. Along with all the committed coaches, 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. In 2010 the club once again achieved honours with a National Award, when we received the accolade of North West Chartered Standard Development Club of the year.

Wishing you all the best and thankyou for reading about us.

Andrew Peck
Cockerham JFC Chairman