Barn Youth open Dixon Halt facility

Barn United Youth celebrated its 10th anniversary recently with the official opening of their new development centre, ‘Dixon Halt’, at Haslett Park. The club’s youth set-up caters for 180 children of all ages with teams playing in the Belfast and East Antrim Youth League and the South Belfast Youth League.

Its academy caters for children aged five to 11, who participate in the IFA Grassroots Development Programme. This season has also seen the development of Barn United Young Men: an Under-19 team. A number of promising players have progressed through the youth set-up to play for the club’s firsts and seconds.

The new Dixon Halt training pitch at Haslett Park was opened after a lot of hard work from the management, coaches, players, parents, supporters and friends of Barn United Youth. The construction was carried out over eight long weekends by a band of dedicated workers.

The Barn Youth Development Centre was officially opened by Honorary Chairman of Barn United Youth, Billy Dixon. Billy has a long affiliation with the club - both senior and junior - and was there at the inception of Barn United Youth a decade ago. He has served as a member of the committee and has always supported the vision for the club.

The facility, which has its own floodlights, astroturf surface, surrounds and storage, is named after Mr. Dixon. The club says it is hoped that in generations to come, the name will by synonymous with hard work, dedication and a vision for the development for youth football within the borough of Carrickfergus.