Knebworth Youth was formed back in 1977 by Doug Dilley, initially with just an U12 boys team in that first season and with only 12 players. After some advertising the club began to grow and quickly had teams at U9 and U10 for the following season. The growth and development since those early days has been rapid and the club today has boys and girls teams from Under 6 through to Under 17 and over 200 registered players. The club emblem is the face of a cat and each age group adopts a big cat name (Lions, Cheetahs, Tigers, Leopards etc.) which they stick with throughout each season.
Through some hard work by the committee and then chairman Tony Lamacraft, the club first achieved the FA's 'Charter Standard' award in 2004 and went on to pick up the Herts FA 'Club of the Year' in this category in both 2006 and also 2008. Further hard work and continued development saw the club achieve the coveted FA 'Development Club' status after much hard work behind the scenes and particular thanks to long-serving club secretary Richard Thom and then chairman James Borrie. James stood down after serving the club well over his three seasons in charge and the chairmanship was handed over to Steve Cook, who has been with the club since 2002, at the start of the 2011-2012 season
The club is affiliated to the Hertfordshire Football Association and our teams either play in the Royston Crow League (boys) or the Herts Girls Football Partnership League (girls). All teams from U9 upwards also compete in the League Cup competitions as well as the Herts FA County Cup. Continued success behind the scenes to develop our club, our coaches and the players, has been rewarded with many successes on the pitch in recent years. Here is the roll of honour from the past few seasons:
2002-2003
The U7 Wildcats, managed by Kevin Rees, triumph in the Royston Crow League
Cup.
The U8 Leopards, managed by Steve Cox, also triumph in their Royston Crow
League Cup final.
The U11 Jaguars, under the guidance of Dave Eaton and Bob Taylor, win the
Royston Crow League Cup.
2003-2004
The now U8 Wildcats, under Kevin Rees and Nick Ironton, were unbeaten all season
and retain the Royston Crow League Cup.
The U13 Pumas, managed by Trevor Blake and Ian Mulcahy, win the Royston Crow
Division Two title.
2004-2005
The U11 Panthers, under Phil Kirkby, are crowned Royston Crow Division Two
champions.
The U10 Leopards, under Steve Cox, finish as Royston Crow Division One
runners-up.
2005-2006
The U10 Wildcats, coached by Kevin Rees and Nick Ironton, win the Royston Crow
Division A title.
The U10 Wildcats second team finish as runners-up in Division B.
The U10 Wildcats almost make it a double but finish as runners-up in the League
Cup.
The new U6 Cheetahs, coached by Steve Cook, win their first-ever tournament at
Panshanger.
The U9 Cougars, also coached by Steve Cook, win the Fairlands Youth tournament.
The U9 Cougars almost make it a double but end up as runners-up in the Knebworth
Youth tournament.
2006-2007
The U11 Wildcats, under Kevin Rees and Nick Ironton, win the Luton Town
'Hatters Cup'.
Their joy is shared by the U13 Panthers, who triumph in the same tournament to
make it a great club double.
The U11 Wildcats win the Royston Crow League Cup, and finish as Division
One runners-up.
The U11 Wildcats win tournaments at West Ham United, St Albans City Youth,
Bedford Park Rangers, Bishop's Stortford, Letchworth Eagles and Biggleswade
The U7 Cheetahs, under Steve Cook, finish as runners-up in a competitive Norfolk
Cup event up at Hemsby in Great Yarmouth.
The U7 Cheetahs then go on to win the Hatfield Youth tournament.
The U7 Cheetahs also finish as runners-up at the Letchworth Eagles tournament.
The U8 Bobcats, under Phil Wheeler, gain their first tournament silverware by
winning the Fairlands tournament.
The U13 Panthers end on a high note winning the Shefford Saints 9-a-side
tournament.
2007-2008
The U8 Cheetahs, under Steve Cook, travel to Chigwell in Essex and lift the
inaugural Tottenham Hotspur Challenge Cup.
To make it a great day, the U9 Bobcats under Phil Wheeler also win at Tottenham.
The U12 Wildcats, under Kevin Rees and Nick Ironton, just miss out as they
finish as runners-up in the Royston Crow Division One.
The U12 Wildcats then make up for their disappointment by winning the Royston
Crow League Cup once again.
The U16 Jaguars, under Mark Slater and Mike Brookes, have a great season to
finish as runners-up in the Royston Crow Division One.
The U14 Panthers, under Ian Ferguson and Paul Pearson, triumph in their Royston
Crow League Cup final.
The U14 Panthers also finish as close runners-up in the Royston Crow Division
One.
The U14 Panthers. with two teams entered, finish as both Champions and
Runners-up in the Hatfield tournament.
The U8 Cheetahs under Steve Cook add the Sandy Colts 5-a-side title to their growing
collection.
One week later the U8 Cheetahs become the first-ever Knebworth team to win on
home soil in the Knebworth tournament.
The U6 Pumas, under Paul McLaughlin, finish as runners-up in the Knebworth
tournament.
2008-2009
The U9 Cheetahs, under Steve Cook, lift the Tottenham Hotspur title for a second successive year.
The U9 Cheetahs also win the Panshanger tournament for a second time.
In what is becoming a fantastic season, the U9 Cheetahs travel to the
Isle of Wight to lift the U9 cup over Easter.
The U16 Tigers win the Royston Crow Division Two championship under the guidance
of Trevor Jones and Chris McNaught.
The U13 Wildcats finish as runners-up in the AVC/Chiltern Division One.
The U13 Wildcats, in Nick Ironton's last season, go on to triumph in the
Chiltern U13 League Cup.
In their first season, the U11 Girls Lionesses, under Denise Carter, finish as
Herts Girls Football Partnership Division Two runners-up.
The Girls U11 Lionesses also finish as runners-up in the Camber Sands
tournament.
The Girls U9 Pixie Bobs, also under Denise Carter, win the Herts Girls Football
Partnership Division Two title.
Steve Cook's U9 Cheetahs travel to East London and win the prestigious West Ham United
tournament on the pitch at Upton Park.
The U9 Cheetahs then successfully defend their Knebworth Tournament title for a
second year in July 2009.
Denise Carter's Girls U9 Pixie Bobs finish as runners-up in the same Knebworth
Tournament.
Then the Girls U11 Lionesses go on to win the Letchworth Eagles Tournament.
The U15 Panthers under Paul Pearson triumph at the Hatfield Youth Tournament for
a second successive year.
The young U8 Lynxes, coached by Simon Wood, finish as runners-up in the King
Georges Tournament in Welwyn.
2009-2010
Steve Cook's U10 Cheetahs start the new season in style picking up the winners
trophy in a 24 team pre-season event at Welwyn Pegasus F.C.
The U10 Cheetahs squad were also voted 'Youth Team of the Year' in The Comet
sports awards for their achievements during 2009.
The Girls U12 Lionesses, coached by Denise Carter were runners-up in the HGFP
U12 League Cup final after going down 3-1 to Bury Rangers in a good game.
The U17 Ocelots, managed by Ricky Verdia, finished as Division Two runners-up,
narrowly missing out on the title after a last game defeat.
However the U17 Tigers, under Chris McNaught, win the Division One title in
their first season back in the top flight.
The U16 Panthers, coached by Paul Pearson, also finished a very close runners-up
in Division One of the Royston Crow League, only overtaken on the last day of
the season by a unfulfilled fixture.
The U8 Pumas, coached by Paul McLaughlin and Jon Harris, finally got their
reward for some impressive performances by winning the Hitchin Sevens
tournament.
It was another trophy for Steve Cook's U10 Cheetahs who also finished as champions at the
Hitchin Sevens tournament on the pitch at Top Field in May 2010.
The U10 Cheetahs put in a superb performance to topple favourites Bishop's
Stortford Town in the RCYFL League Cup final.
The U10 Cheetahs then won for a second successive season on tour, this time
winning the Sussex Cup down in Selsey over Whitsun.
The Girls U10's, under Denise Carter, win the Knebworth Youth tournament.
The Girls U10's follow this up with the Woburn Lionesses tournament title.
2010-2011
The Girls U12 Lionesses under Denise Carter finished as runners-up in the
Flitwick Eagles pre-season tournament in September 2010.
Over the same weekend Steve Cook's U11 Cheetahs 'Yellows' also finished as
runners-up in their age group at the same event.
The U12 Lionesses go on to win the Chiltern 7's U12 League Cup against
previously unbeaten AFC Kempston.
The boys U18 Leopards, under Stuart Biddle, lift the Royston Crow U18 League Cup
with an emphatic 4-1 victory over Royston Town.
Denise Carter's U12 Lionesses cap a marvellous season by finishing as runners-up
in the SCI Ultimatch Cup competition in Great Yarmouth.
The boys U11 Cheetahs, under Steve Cook, also finish as runners-up in the SCI
Ultimatch Cup competition in Great Yarmouth.
Knebworth's U9 Pumas, managed by Jon Harris, finish as RCYFL League Cup
runners-up.
The U11 Cheetahs Yellows, under Steve Cook, ensure a title at every age group from U6 by picking up
the Bedford Park Rangers 11-a-side winners trophy in June 2011.
In the same event, the U11 Cheetahs Blacks finished a creditable runners-up in
the shield event.
The Girls U12 Lionesses once again go close but finish as runners-up in the
Milton Keynes City Youth tournament in June 2011.
The U11 Cheetahs Yellows are enjoying a successful summer and pick up the
Evergreen Youth 6-a-side trophy after winning every game and only conceding two
goals all day.
In their last involvement in the competition, Steve Cook's U11 Cheetahs win the
Knebworth tournament in grand style for the third time in four years with no
goals against all day.
2011-2012
Barely into September and Steve Hill's Lions pick up the Welwyn Pegasus U14
'Shield' - their first trophy and no doubt more will follow shortly!
Also breaking their duck was Andy Churn's Girls U11 Tigresses over the same
weekend, this time crowned as champions at the AFC Kempston tournament.
Completing the hat-trick of first-time champions, Mike Astley and Craig Cowe led
their U9 Jaguars to Shield victory at the Welwyn Pegasus tournament.