Club History
Barmond United were formed in April 2007 to provide an opportunity to play football for children who were not always being given a fair opportunity with other clubs in the Stevenage area.
Many people have asked where the name Barmond Utd comes from and the answer is quite simple. At the time the Club was formed there were no youth football teams in Stevenage with United in their name, so this was the first decision made. Most of the areas of the town are already utilised in clubs names (Pin Green, Bedwell, Broadhall etc) so a slightly different approach was required. Most of the players from the then U14 squad attended Barclay School and the U9's had played for the last 2 seasons at Almond Hill school. Merging the 2 school names together Bar(clay) (Al)mond resulted in Barmond.
In season 2007/8 two teams were entered into the Royston Crow Youth Football League. The U9's played non-competitive Saturday fixtures in Division F and although they didn't win a huge number of matches, they played with great spirit and desire to improve their footballing ability and always attempted to play a passing game.
The U14's played in Division 4 and were eliminated from the League and County Cups at the first hurdle. The first win of the season did not come until February, but when it did it was swiftly followed by 3 more. Eventually, the side finished 11th out of 13 teams. However, the team's approach was recognised by their peers when they were awarded the League Sporting Award at the end of the season.
Season 2008/9 saw the U9's move to U10 football, including the transition to playing on Sundays in competitive football, where results are kept and league tables published. The U15's moved into Division 3 in the new season as the league consolidated into just 3 divisions and games progressed to 40 minutes each way on full size pitches. Both teams started slowly, but gradually began to accumulate points which enabled them to progress up the table, although our interests in League and County Cups did not extend beyond our first matches.
For season 2009/10 an additional team to the existing two was started, enabling the underage players from the previous season's U10 team to continue playing mini-soccer at their own age. They had a very good first season, becoming the first team from the club to win a cup match when they won a League Cup First Round tie. A sixth place finish in the League didn't really reflect how close fought almost all their games had been. There was a big transition for the U11's as they moved up to 11-a-side football, initially with only 10 players and despite losing all matches except one draw, the season finished with a squad of 17 players. The attitude of the team was rewarded with the League Sporting Award at the end of the season. The U16's continued in Division 3 and had an excellent record against the top 3 teams in the division but eventually finished 5th.
2010/11 saw Tim Parker join the Club with an U10 squad to add to the existing 3 teams playing 11-a-side. While the U10's won no games on the pitch, it was often easy to forget that the majority of the team were actually playing up a year. They received much acclaim from opposition coaches for their approach and quality of play. The U11's coped with the transition to 11-a-side admirably, eventually finishing 5th in Division 3 while at the same time becoming the first team from the Club to win a County Cup tie. A whole host of club records were set during the course of their season, many revolving around some prodigious goal scoring. Sadly, the U12's were unable to complete the season when a number of players dropped out during the winter. However the spirit of the remaining players was excellent and they elected to continue training with a view to rejoining the League in 2011/12. Finally the U17's had an other curate's egg of a season, excelling in many games whilst capitulating in others. Highlights were getting to the Quarter-Finals of the League Cup and an impressive away win at the previously unbeaten Elsenham. The addition during the season of the Little Barmond squad of U6's and U7's will help to cement the future of the Club.
2011/12 saw Little Barmond continuing training in preparation for matches next season. The U10's continued with another season of U10 mini-soccer and the other 3 teams moved up a year. The U12's were the most successful team in terms of results but the U13'S kept improving and registered their first win in the last game of the season. The U18 team folded half way through the season due to a shortage of players, but many had already been playing in the Club's open aged team formed to play on Saturday's in the North & Mid Herts Football League. This team lost every game but one (which they drew) but found the transition to adult football hard but enjoyable.
A new group of Little Badgers joined the Club at the start of the 2012/13 season with the old group having not progressed with the Club into matches. The U10's joined Division 4 of the U11 League and became the first team from the Club to play 9 v 9 football as part of the FA's revised player pathway. There was a new manager for the U13's as Natalie Beauchamp replaced Kris Kalaiarasu and the U14's had the biggest squad that they had ever had. The adult team continued with a larger and older squad and reached the last 16 of the County Junior Cup.
The 2013/14 season saw the Club field a total of 5 teams as Tom Monk brought in a team to play at U16. The adult team moved across to the Hertford & District League following the demise of the North & Mid-Herts League but still contrived to finish bottom. The U14 squad finished as runners-up in both the RCYFL Division 3 and in the Division 3 cup, while the U12's finished third in Division 3B.
The start of the 2014/15 season sees all 5 teams continue again under the Club banner, with all the youth teams now playing in Division 2 as the RCYFL appears to be suffering from a period of contraction in team numbers.
Site Last Updated - 21/03/2018 08:45:06