Cheltenham North were always going to play a big part in Nick Jones’ life.

Nick is the son of ‘Froggy’ Jones, the Cheltenham North legend and one-time prop who would fiercely defend the club he loved whether it was on or off the pitch.

Nothing was ever black or white for Froggy, it was always black and red.

These days 57-year-old Nick Jones, a player at the North for some 20-plus years, is president of the club, a position he has held for the past 12 months or so.

And as you’d expect from someone who first became part of the club more than 50 years ago it is a job he takes very seriously.

“I’d like to think I’m very hands-on,” he said. “I go to all the matches and I coach on a Sunday if the juniors need me.

“We’ve got juniors starting from under-5s all the way up to under-18s. We’re also starting a girls’ under-13 team this season.”

There weren’t too many mini and junior sections around when the young Nick was first learning to walk and talk although a rugby ball was never too far away from him – his dad made sure of that!

“I’ve been going down the North since I was three or four, if not before that,” he said. “We were at Agg Gardeners in those days and I was there when we bought Stoke Road.”

He remembers the old clubhouse at Stoke Road as well and it wasn’t too long before he was pulling on the North’s famous black and red shirt for the first time.

“I was only 13,” recalled the one-time Cheltenham Grammar School pupil. “I played for the 4ths alongside my dad.

“He played for the club for 30-odd years and was a competitive animal.

“The game was against Minety 2nds and was played at Agg Gardeners. I played at prop but after about 20 minutes and three or four scrums they moved me to the back row.

“We had a good side in those days and we won 40-odd nil.”

By the age of 15 or 16 Jones junior was a regular in the 5ths and he worked his way up through all the teams to make it into the 1sts.

“I had a couple of seasons in the 1sts,” he said. “I played alongside the likes of John Joines, Cliffe Brookes, Eddie Washbourne and John Hargreaves. I was a second row or number eight.

“There was a group of us – Andy Page, Stu and Rob Gourlay – who were very close when we were 20 or 21.”

Family commitments meant the dad-of-five stopped playing in his early 30s but all three of Jones’ sons – Ali, Angus and Drew – have played for the North with Ali and Angus having featured for the 1sts.

Angus, a front row, will still play the odd game when he can and if he plays this season he will be left in little doubt as to what the aim is for the Gloucester One club.

“Our aim is obviously promotion, no doubt about that,” Jones said. “We’re also very hopeful of putting together a 2nd team for at least 10 games, that is key for us pushing on to the next stage.

“We’ve had a pretty tough 10 years but last season was much more positive, there’s a good feeling in the club.”

The North have retained the same coaching team as last season with Neil Carpenter team manager and Isiah Young and James Wikins operating as head coaches while Brad Hepi is the skills coach.

They were pushing for promotion last time out until the closing weeks of the season and also reached the final of the Cheltenham Combination Senior Cup, losing out in a high-scoring affair to near neighbours Cheltenham.

And while things would appear to be moving in the right direction on the field, they are also looking good off the field as well.

“We’re very fortunate with what we’ve got at Stoke Road,” Jones added. “It’s a lovely place to play rugby and the 1st team play on a fantastic pitch.

“Phil Odam, our groundsman, does a fantastic job along with Adge Wakefield.”

And while Jones clearly likes what he sees at Stoke Road, the club have ambitious plans to improve the facilities still further which would involve converting their single-story clubhouse into a two-storey building and doubling the number of changing rooms to six.

The club have formed a ‘Raising the Roof’ committee – “Paul Carter is chairman and he’s doing a tremendous job,” said Jones – and need to raise well above £1 million to see their plans come to fruition.

“For work to start we’d need to get a grant for £700,000,” added Jones. “If we were to see it through to the end, £1.4 million is the figure we’re working to although it will probably come in a little less than that.”

It is indeed an ambitious project but while that is very much for the future, the players of today remain very much a priority for Jones.

“We’re putting a lot of effort into player welfare and their recovery from injury,” explained Jones. “We’re making sure we’re looking after them, especially over concussion.

“Miles Corbett is heading this up. He was our physio last year and did a fantastic job. He’s very well liked by the players and is very professional.”