Kerstin Connolly has poured her heart and soul into Nomads Netball Club over the years.

The now 54-year-old first started playing for the Cheltenham-based side back in the mid-to-late 1980s as a 17-year-old and has enjoyed every minute.

These days she’s captain of the B team who play in Division Four of the Gloucestershire League but in the past she’s captained the A team and is also a former chairperson.

“I’m the longest serving member,” she said with obvious pride. “I joined the club a couple of years after they were formed.”

The club were formed out of the old Cheltenham Civil Service Club. They were known for a while as Nomads and Wanderers but have been established as the Nomads for a good number of years now.

The A team, who are captained by Geraldine Stokes, play in Division One of the County League and Kerstin said: “We’ve got 27 affiliated members. We train at Bournside School on a Wednesday.

“The A team play their matches on a Saturday at Plock Court and the B team play at @leisure.”

Kerstin, a goalshooter, was a key player for the A team for many years.

“I ruptured my ACL when I was 40,” she said. “I was out for a year and a half and then I had surgery and I was out for another nine months.

“Since then I’ve played for the B team.”

She remains an important figure at Nomads, however, as she is the club’s treasurer and as such she works closely with chairperson Laura Cook, who is new to the position, and secretary Sarah Smith, who has done the job for several years.

The aforementioned Geraldine Stokes is vice-chairperson while Sophie Moore is player/coach.

And they clearly enjoy working and playing together.

“Everyone at the club is good mates, we’re tight-knit,” continued Kerstin. “We love the competition but winning isn’t the be-all and end-all, we don’t take it too seriously.

“We take it seriously on a Saturday but the most important thing is to play the best we can.”

So who has been the best player during Kerstin’s time at the club?

“That’s a tough one,” she said, before adding with a laugh, “They’re all ace!”   

Nomads are on the lookout for new players. For further information, visit https://www.nomadsnetball.co.uk/home, https://www.facebook.com/NomadsNetballClub/ and https://twitter.com/i/flow/login?redirect_after_login=%2Fnomadsnetball