Boston Town Ladies celebrate an impressive first ever season

So the fact she can now call herself the founder and current coach of Boston Town Ladies FC is perhaps as much of a surprise to herself as anyone else.

But that’s precisely the path her life has taken as she now reflects on the team’s first ever season in a competitive league, working alongside the team’s manager Katie Messam and overseeing a squad of around 25 players.

But how did a mum in her mid-40s who was more accustomed to netball than football, decide to branch out?

"I’m very much from a netball background and always spent time in the gym but had never played football – couldn’t kick a ball for love nor money,” she said.

"So when someone suggested I play walking football after the Covid pandemic, I wasn’t keen at all. They’d told me I’d be good as I’ve got good spatial awareness and so on, and the more they got at me the more I thought about it and was tempted to do something different.

"So I did. I was rubbish – I’m not even great now – but I did the graft, knew the basics and read the game well and really enjoyed it.

"So I started with a ladies team in Sleaford, attending sessions twice a week, and on the Saturday mornings the men were playing and I figured I’d see if I could play with them. I just wanted to get better and it worked, as it brought my game on so much given it’s faster, the touches are better, the way they talk and so on.

"It was a really good laugh and I enjoyed it, to the point where I was then wondering if I could play proper football too.”

A bad ankle injury picked up whilst playing a netball tournament nearly knocked her off her stride, but having enjoyed a successful rehabilitation she began playing football for Wyberton Wildcats.

Before long, the temptation to start up her own team became too strong to resist.

She said: “I’d always run netball clubs both in a chair and coaching capacity – I love to take raw players and make them better and get them doing something they enjoy and learning new skills.

"So we put some flyers out and our first training session was at Boston Town, where we had five or six players turn up – three or four of whom were netballers and one had never played football in her life.

"That went on for a few weeks with the same group, then eventually one more would come along, then another, and it grew to the point where we pretty much had a team.

"We considered entering a league at that point but in the end we were nowhere near ready, so opted to have a season where we’d play friendlies, train and get some cohesion and consistency.

"A few of us did go and sign for Sleaford United just to be in that environment and see what it’s like and to help us know what kind of environment to create at Boston.

"We were getting hammered every week but getting better all the time, keeping our fitness up and improving our football knowledge.”

With the blessing of the hierarchy at Boston Town to field a team under the club’s name, Rosie said the time was then right to get them playing competitively.

She said: “We entered the County Cup and also had a friendly with Woodhall Spa under-18s, who battered us, but that day a few other girls were watching who played for an established team that were folding.

“So they joined our squad, we had a few more join and went into the Lincolnshire Women’s and Girls League for the first time, the team’s age spanning from 16 to 50.

"We didn’t care how we did other than not finishing bottom. We knew we had a chance of doing OK and for most of the season we were contending for the top three, but as time has gone on the games have been up against the teams at the top end with one game to go it looks like we’ll finish fourth.

"For our first season, I’m chuffed with that overall. For me it’s more about people being involved and just playing football. There may be a time in the future where we look to progress higher but to do that now would be too soon given the extra travelling and commitment needed.

"I’m happy on the coaching and admin side and Katie has been brilliant as manager, which helps take the pressure off me as I still have netball commitments too and there’s so much organising to do in both sports.

"Moving forward, we’d like to retain the players we’ve got but some will inevitably come and go, so we’ll see how things look in the summer. We’ve got a few who just come and train and numbers can fluctuate at times, but the standard is growing.

"There’s also the thought of introducing some junior sides to create a bit of a pathway to the first team, so that would be fantastic if we can eventually achieve that.”

Anyone interested in joining the club can contact them via its Facebook page.