1. CONFIRM YOUR LEAGUE CHOICE
Confirm with Adam, our Club Secretary, which league (Royston Crow or Mid Herts) you want to compete in next season and let him know if you are intending to ‘play-up a year’. Deadline to do this is 30th May.
2. START COLLECTING YOUR REGISTRATION FEEs
As shown in the table below, the registration fee for the 2025-26 season is £275.00 (so only a small £10 increase on last season, essentially to cover the inclusion of a fantastic red away shirt for each player). Once again, Ade has done a great job to keep the fee’s as low as possible, and you can see what that covers here. As with all previous year’s:
- Each players’ first half payment (£137.50) is required by 30th June
- Each players’ second half payment (£137.50) is required by 30th September
REMEMBER - Parents do not pay the club individually. The Manager/Coach collates for the team as a whole and then transfers to Ade in one lump-sum. We do not accept cash.
Full details on our Registration Fee, what it covers, and how to pay it are on our Registration Fee page. Team Mangers/Secretaries are responsible for collecting all registration payments (1st and 2nd halves) from parents/guardians and transferring as a team to Ade, our Finance Manager. We do not accept individual, direct payments from parents, and we don't accept cash.
3. REGISTER YOUR EXISTING PLAYERS
As usual, our Club Secretary, Adam, will need your Team Registration Form (shown right) detailing the existing players in your squad, by 30th June so he can start registering players across July. You will be sent the most up to date version we have for your team. The form needs to be properly updated and filled out. It’s straight-forward - update the details of existing players, remove players who are leaving, and add on new players who are joining. If an existing player needs an updated photo, Adam will contact you. If you need a new Team Registration Form, download one from here.
The deadline for Team Registration Forms is Monday 30th June. If you don't send us the details by then, your team's start to the season will be delayed.
4. REGISTER NEW PLAYERS
Should you have new players to register, as usual Adam will need the following:
- An individual player registration form (downloadable from the website here)
- An FA approved head and shoulders photo of the player (see right)
- A copy of their ID.
- The registration fee (depending on when they start - see registration fee table above) forwarded to Ade.
REMEMBER - If the player is joining your team from an existing HTYFC team, we just need to be notified of his/her name and the team he is transferring from to allocate him/her to your side. In all cases, please remember to update your Team Registration Form with the new player on.
5. ORDER YOUR KIT (ASAP!)
As early as possible, contact our Kit Manager, Ian Key on ian.key@hitchintownyouthfc.com or 07713 754286 to coordinate the order of your team's kit, or individual orders for additional new players. The kit order forms can be downloaded from here. Please note:
- We have moved to a new supplier in Hope and Glory for the next Hitchin Town Youth kit which will last for 2 years so please keep this in mind when considering sizing.
- Each player (excluding GK) will receive: Home Shirt (yellow), Away Shirt (red), Home shorts (green), Socks or sleeve (one or the other, in green)
- Each GK will receive: GK Shirt (blue), Shorts (blue), Sock or sleeve (one or the other, in blue)
- Sponsor printing can be done at point of order. With our new kit the sponsor printing is included at no extra cost, as it is woven into the shirt when it’s made.
- If you do not have sponsors and are still searching printing can be done later with our usual supplier ROXA team wear Stevenage (formerly KC Sports).
Please contact Ian directly with any additional questions.
6. CHECK YOUR COACHING TEAM’s DBS & QUALIFICATIONS
We cannot affiliate teams with the FA, and/or submit teams to leagues if coaches DBS, or essential qualifications are out-of-date. Check your coaches status via the FA Portal, and get yourself ready for the new season. Having the right, up-to-date qualifications is your responsibility. Essential qualifications are:
- An in-date Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check. If you need one, Adam will send you details on how to get one.
- Safeguarding Children Course – online course that costs £30 (refundable from club) and takes 2 hours to complete.
- Introduction to First Aid in Football - online course that costs £30 (refundable from club) and takes 2 hours to complete.
- The FA Playmaker Course – Free online course that takes 4 hours to complete and provides the essential introduction to coaching grassroots football.
7. SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT DATES & DEADLINES
- 30 May - Deadline for selecting your league
- 30 June - Deadline for registering your existing players. First half subs need to be paid into Ade
- From 1 July - Teams are affiliated with Herts FA
- 6/7 Sep - Opening League Games (Royston Crow & Mid Herts)
- 30 Sep - Second half subs need to be paid into Ade
- w/c 29 Sep - Floodlit 3G training starts
AND LASTLY...
No one loves football admin - we get that, but, alas, it's a necessary part of running a youth football club. However, please don't take your admin frustrations out on the Committee.
Behind that word 'Committee', we’re simply a small group of Dads and Mums, holding down normal day jobs like everyone else, while also trying to coordinate and provide for 30 teams, 90+ coaches and 400 kids, as well as Coaching our own boys and girls, like you. We’re massively understaffed and most of us are doing 3 or 4 roles at the time - all so football can continue, teams can join leagues, pitches are booked, kit is ordered and kids can play the beautiful game.
Thank you! (and if you are brave enough to want to help us - Contact Us!)
