Age is nothing but a number

Age is nothing but a number for the ladies of The Parks and The Heinekens who played a friendly match against each other at Bedfordview Primary School on March 2.

The Heinekens is a group of women who play netball when they are not busy being moms.

The women come from Bedfordview, Malvern and other Johannesburg east suburbs.

Lucy Mbambo, coach of The Heinekens, said the team was formed by women, mostly mothers from the age of 35 to 45.

“The team has been running for more than 13 years. We also have The Heinekens Juniors, which is the team for our younger women.

“We are mothers who would much rather do something physical than sitting at home. We all enjoy playing netball and we encourage any other moms who are interested to come and join us,” said Mbambo.

The Heineken’s teammate Ethel Mahiti said the team trains on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 5.30pm to 6.30pm at Bedfordview High School and sometimes at Bedfordview Primary School.

“We are looking at playing in a league in the future,” said Mahiti.

The coach of The Parks, Gaby Dladla, joined the team in January this year.

“I play for the Gauteng League and being a past learner from Parkhurst Primary School, I decided to become a coach for The Parks as a way of giving back to the community,” said Dladla.

She said the women are committed to their team and a lot of members are domestic workers.

“They have a sisterhood, much like a family and have an incredible passion for netball,” said Dladla.

Fezile Khoza, a new member of The Parks, has only been playing for a week.

“I was walking about in Parkhurst and saw them playing at Parkhurst Primary and decided I wanted to be part of it. I am really enjoying myself,” said Khoza.

Founder of The Parks Grace Matoni (56) said that she fell in love with netball and is grateful for the sponsorship she has received from Parkhurst community.

“The oldest member is 65 years old. We get so much fulfilment from playing netball. We all love to remain active and stay healthy and fit,” said Matoni.

The Heinekens came from behind in the second half of the match at 7-3 but ended in a draw at 10-10.