Ever wonder how this all got started? NJAA began as an offshoot of the Holt Athletic Association in the late sixties. The first sports offered were football, baseball and basketball. The earliest documentation that indicates NJAA was a viable operating organization is dated April 24, 1972. The superintendent of Durham County Schools, Mr. Charles Chewning, wrote NJAA president Ramon Lopez a letter giving NJAA permission to install lights on the athletic field at Mangum school for community recreation purposes. The remains of those old light poles can still be found in the dugouts of the medium baseball field. In 1977, the NJAA board decided to make it all legal and had bylaws written that are still the basis of the current NJAA bylaws. One interesting note in those old bylaws states "in the event of dissolution of the association, all assets which remain will be disbursed to the Holt Athletic Association." Obviously the branching out from Holt was a friendly parting of ways! Those bylaws of course have been amended and now name Mangum Elementary as NJAA’s beneficiary.

Some milestones in NJAA history include the discontinuation of football in the early eighties and the establishment of soccer. Ten years ago the soccer program averaged less than two hundred players and some age groups had to be combined beyond 5-6 to have enough kids to play. In 1998 the NJAA soccer program began to see a slow and steady increase of players and in 2002, NJAA had over 400 kids playing fall soccer. That number has decreased a little, but NJAA still leads the Durham County Youth Soccer League with the number of teams fielded. In the year 2000, NJAA began a fundraising campaign in the Northern Durham Community that ended with a $20,000 dollar donation to the Little River Community Complex to install a new gym floor, new glass backboards that could be raised and lowered, new bleachers, and painting of the walls. Norman Whitaker and Brown Brothers Plumbing Company were instrumental in bringing that renovation to fruition. It remains one the best private recreational basketball gymnasiums in Durham County. The year 2001 saw the establishment of the spring soccer program, first for girls and in 2002 for boys. The focus of the spring season was to introduce kids to the game and play for fun and instruction, and 85 girls signed up that first year. There were some interesting age combinations the first season, but with the addition of the boys program in 2002, spring soccer has grown steadily.

One last piece of NJAA history hopefully portrays the future. There are grandparents sitting in the stands at NJAA watching their grandkids play sports that once coached and served on the NJAA board of directors. Moms and Dads that played at NJAA are now coaching their kids at NJAA. What a great testament this is to NJAA and to the founders of this great association. You can be a part of the NJAA history by volunteering and getting involved. Help us keep NJAA going for the next generation of kids.