UNSUNG hero Glynn Thompson has been rewarded for getting hundreds of kids hooked on football.
The mini league manager at Great Harwood Rovers has been named Lancashire FA Charter Standard Coach of the Year for his pioneering work with players as young as five.
Glynn, 56, who lives in Great Harwood, now goes through to the regional and national finals of the FA's search for the country's top coach.
"To say I was surprised is an understatement," he said after being presented with his trophy at the club.
"I didn't even know I was up for the award. No-one at the club told me they had even nominated me for it.
"It's a massive honour - for the club, not for me personally. But it certainly makes me feel what I do is worthwhile and appreciated."
Glyn has spent a decade running the youngest section at Great Harwood Rovers for tots aged five and six.
He admits he finds the job "fantastically rewarding" watching players develop basic skills and then move up through the age groups and, in Some cases, on to professional clubs like Blackburn Rovers, Burnley and Bolton Wanderers.
"It's great when you see them reach such a high standard and you can remember the first day they arrived, hardly able to kick a ball," he added.
Glynn joined Great Harwood Rovers almost by accident after taking one of his grandsons to a training session - a decade on and he now has four grandsons playing for the club.
l Great Harwood Rovers was one of the first 36 clubs in the country to earn the prestigious FA Charter Standard Award back in 2001 and now fields as many as 18 teams from minis through to under-16s and then open age.
