Many of us enjoy visiting our local non-league club at the weekend and during the week. We finish work, watch the match and head home ready for a new day. But what about the players and managers who have to fit in their work commitments around the football? How do they do it?

The Echo will be speaking to non-league stars from across Essex this season about how they juggle two of life’s most crucial aspects – work and football.

This week we speak to Hullbridge Sports’ Ladies captain Kerry McAteer, after she led her team on a superb run in the league in the team’s first ever season. Sports trail the leaders by six points, but have three games in hand on them. Kerry herself scored from inside her own half last weekend!

 

SATURDAY

This is the one day a week I don’t have to stick to a set routine. I find myself being very non-stop during the week, so I normally treat myself to a little lay in which my body very much appreciates!

Being only 23 and not having any children I am quite lucky that I don’t have too many responsibilities, so I can usually use a Saturday to do whatever takes my fancy. This is usually spending time with my nephew or doing a bit of shopping. I try not to go out clubbing on a Saturday night as I don’t want it to affect my performance on a Sunday, so I try to plan any nights out for a Friday. Instead, Saturday nights are usually spent with friends and family.

 

SUNDAY

I’m always up before my alarm on a Sunday, with my first thought being on the afternoon’s match and this Sunday was no exception.

Today we are away to Wickford Town; another must win game for Hullbridge Ladies. I leave the house after midday and pick up a few of my teammates on the way to the game.

The game kicked off at 2pm and after getting used to the windy conditions, we started to play our football at the level we know we are capable of and we came away with a 6-0 win. I also managed to score my first goal for Hullbridge Sports from just inside my own half, which had to be one of my best goals over the past 10 years! There was a lot of banter about the goal being like Charlie Adams, but I was just pleased to score and I found out it was the 50th Hullbridge Ladies goal.

We have come a very long way as a team this season, having only formed last summer and we are now very serious contenders to win our league. The added pressure does mean a few more nerves before each game, but our manager Lisa Frost always encourages us to try to turn nerves into positive energy which seems to be working!

 

MONDAY

This is a day I will never wake up before my alarm! In fact it probably gets snoozed at least five times before I get out of bed.

I work as an account co-ordinator for IFE Global Logistics in Basildon and have been there for just over four years now. IFE are the ladies team sponsor and have supported us massively over our first season together.

After sitting at a desk for most of the day, I like to go to the gym in the evening to get my legs moving! Then it’s back home to relax for the rest of the night.

 

TUESDAY

My colleagues all know how passionate I am about football, although most people are very surprised to hear I play football when I first meet them! I work with a lot of boys who need to be taught that women can play football to a high standard, so I challenged them to a five-a-side match after work against myself and some of my teammates.

So after work we headed over to Basildon Sporting Village for a match that was so much more than just a kick about! It was clear after a few minutes that boys were very surprised at the standard and I think we did more than enough to prove our point!

 

WEDNESDAY

I’m starting to look ahead to the game on Sunday already. With every game now a must win to guarantee us the title, we can’t afford any slip-ups.

I try to get out of the office at lunch time to get away from my computer for an hour and if I’m lucky, I might be able to talk one of my colleagues into a Nandos!

After work it’s another night in the gym doing my favourite class – body pump. Being a central defender, I wanted to try to increase my strength which this class has really helped me with over the last few months.

 

THURSDAY

We train every Thursday night and the sessions are always brilliant. We usually have about 20 to 25 ladies each week which enables us to do some really good drills plus a full match. We often go for a drink after training as we know how important the social side of being part of a team is.

We really are like one big family and I couldn’t be more proud to be the Hullbridge Ladies captain.