Proposed to become a leafy suburb of the Granite City, Westhill felt the full force of the North-East oil boom in the 1970s, quickly becoming centre of subsea technology and development. In 1996, Westdyke Boys Club was founded to offer the opportunity of football to children within the community. 28-years later, the club is set to take their next step in league football, one which takes them to North Region Junior FA Championship within the pyramid of Scottish football.

Nestled on the edge of Westhill, on the residential side of the A944, is Lawsondale Park, where I met up with Westdyke Amateurs co-manager Philip Leat, and Westdyke Juniors Vice-President Dan Davidson to learn more. Philip began by explaining the history and development of the club.

“we have seen a progression in performances and achievements”

“Westdyke Boys Club started back in 1996, because there was so much interest in the area… Since then, there has been a trajectory of continual growth. We started out by constructing a full compliment of boys age groups… In 2004 we founded the amateurs, to provide an opportunity for the boys at a more senior level. In 2011, Westdyke became a Community Club, alongside two successful ladies teams and full age range of girls teams. Right throughout the club in recent years, we have seen a progression in performances and achievements”

Philip continued, highlighting the significance of earning a Community Club status, with Westdyke being the first team to do so in the North East.

“The Community Club part of the SFA quality mark system… we have a legacy awards, meaning we have successfully achieved necessary requirements regarding equality, coaching quality, safeguarding children, etc. We have some coaches with UEFA B and C licensing standards. The requirement for coaches to be badged has lifted the standards throughout the club. Boys are happy to stay here, because they know they can progress their footballing abilities and opportunities”.

We moved on to the creation of the Junior team, and the logistical challenge it presented to the board of the club and the potential positives it can bring.

“The step to juniors was probably five years too late” Dan admitted, “We need someone like Ian [MacKenzie] to take the bull by the horns and get it progressing… He has put in a tremendous amount of work to get to where we are now, almost by himself. Highland League and Junior Clubs have looked upon Westdyke as a really good pull of potential players. We got to the point where we thought- shouldn’t we be doing this ourselves? The wish to go junior has been there for several years and Ian is the guy who has made it happen”.

Philip then explains the hectic summer of preparation to become a junior outfit, and the adjustment it will be for all of Westdyke CC.

“We put no limits on the ambition of Westdyke”

“The junior association calls for applicants early in the year, and we had to get our paperwork together. We were in attendance at the junior AGM in early June, where our application was accepted. We have some adjustments to make, such as the pitch being clear before kickoff, and separation of fans and staff. The longer-term plan is to develop a junior standard grass pitch within the Lawsondale Park area, compliant with the regulations. This is all quite an undertaking, because it will fall on a small number of people. We put no limits on the ambition of Westdyke, and things will be done in a logical manner”.

Dan informed me of their Grill League Cup venture, where they first played as a junior club.

“The three [Grill Cup] games were essentially our preseason, the guys were yet to play together at this level. The majority of players have graduated from the amateurs, and some from our development squad partnership with Hall Russell United. We were cautious not to obliterate the current amateur squad, and to ensure they continued in a successful manner”. Westdyke were unable to pick up points from a tough group, including Superleague champions Culter F.C.

Shifting our attention to Lawsondale Park, Philip described the importance of the facilities to the local community.

“We are very fortunate to have Lawsondale, which is on a long-term lease from the council, and it is operated by the Lawsondale Trust. One the attractions of being a junior club is the potential increase of investment back into Lawsondale and the local community, through sponsorship ventures. We are giving back as much as we can to the community club. The Junior venture is already delivering through small initiatives such as the pavilion clubhouse, which is being turned into a cafe to service fans during matchdays. The [pavilion] development is a win-win enterprise, in all sorts of ways. It’s a bonus for the community, a bonus for the Lawsondale trust, and for the juniors”.

We closed on the wider Westhill community, and its struggles for sports facilities.

“You look at other towns in Aberdeenshire- Ellon, Stonehaven, Garioch- have all benefited considerably from council facilities. Generally speaking, Westhill is an affluent community with high earning individuals, and the biggest challenge is finding people who have the time and effort to maintain and run a club like Westdyke. It took us five years to raise funds for our artificial turf pitch, through numerous investors.

Before I left, I saw numerous pieces of recent infrastructure, such as the container ticket office shown above. Other features such as enclosed dugouts and barriers between public and staff have been created in time for the season. Westdyke begin their NRJFA championship 2024/25 league campaign at Lawsondale, where they welcome Longside F.C. Their opening five fixtures are listed below.

10/08/24	Westdyke	Vs	Longside
13/08/24	Deveronside	Vs	Westdyke
17/08/24	Westdyke	Vs	Whitehills
24/08/24	Cruden Bay	Vs	Westdyke
31/08/24	Westdyke	Vs	Hall Russell

I would like to thank Philip Leat and Dan Davidson for kindly agreeing to meet with me, and for sharing Westdyke’s story, and I wish them well for the upcoming season.