‘I remember every moment… because it was the worst day of my life’: AFL star reveals the heartbreaking moment she discovered her mother had been murdered by a boyfriend – and how football saved her life
- Courtney Ugle lost both her father and her mother under tragic circumstances
- The 22-year-old from Bunbury, Western Australia said football was a distraction
- Eventually she saw an life-changing opportunity to play with Essendon VFLW
An AFL star has revealed how football helped her overcome the death of both her parents in tragic circumstances.
Courtney Ugle lost her parents before moving to the other side of the country to follow her dreams.
The 22-year-old, from Bunbury in Western Australia, recalled the crippling moment she learnt her mother was killed following a domestic violence dispute.
AFL star Courtney Ugle said football saved her life and helped her overcome family tragedies
‘I remember that day, I can replay it 100 times in my head and I remember every moment of it … because it was the worst day of my life,’ she told ABC news.
In 2016 Ugle was playing football when she received a heartbreaking call from her brother.
She rushed home and found paramedics and police outside her home.
Ugle and her brothers and sisters followed the ambulance but when they arrived at the hospital they were told the heartbreaking news that their mother had died.
‘The poor nurse, to deliver that news to us. She said the paramedics did everything that they absolutely could,’ she said.
Tragically her mother began using drugs and alcohol to deal with her grief and strain of raising four children alone after he father died when she was 11.
Her mother’s partner was charged with murder and sentenced to life in prison.
She said football was a distraction when her mother was killed by a partner in 2016 (pictured is Ugle with her mother)
Ugle returned to training weeks later and said football helped her cope with the crippling grief because it was a distraction.
‘Footy definitely saved me through those really dark times. I’m so grateful and thankful … that a game saved my life,’ she said.
Ugle was then given the opportunity to play with the Essendon VFLW team and with the support of her siblings moved interstate in less then a week.
The brave athlete also works for an Indigenous community group called Djirra, sharing her story with young Indigenous women.