Women and girls make an incredible contribution to our game, both on and off the pitch. Throughout Female Football Week (1-10 May), we will be sharing YOUR stories to celebrate this contribution with the wider Victorian football community.
Today, Natalie McDowall shares how she rediscovered her love for the game.
I began playing football when I was 8 years old with Newborough Yallourn Soccer Club, to say I was a beginner would be an understatement.
I did not know much about the game and was not confident in myself at all. I played on a mixed team as out in the country towns there was not much interest from young females. I remember in one of my first few games of the season I was hit by the ball on my arm and was in tears and thought, “that is it, I am never going to come back.”
Luckily, I kept on playing and realised that I did love the game and spent roughly a further eight years there. I soon realised that my competitive nature would not let me give up the sport that easily!
I continued playing until I was 18 years old and completed my year 12 with the SEDA TP program with Melbourne Heart. However, after living and breathing the sport for 10 years I wanted to take a step back and focus on getting a job and beginning to live my life. I took a long time off from football and focused on my own fitness and working life. I also had a son who is now two years old and is an adorable little terror.
However, when I had my son, it was a stressful high-risk pregnancy from roughly 26 weeks. Up until my delivery at 34 weeks it was touch and go with his health and survival rate. We ended up having my son via an emergency c-section because during labour he had been being deprived of oxygen for approximately 10 minutes. Luckily after some time in the NICU my son was all cleared and since has been a reasonably happy and healthy kiddo!
However due to the stress of the pregnancy I developed two autoimmune conditions: Sjogren’s and Rheumatoid Arthritis. These conditions have unfortunately affected the way I am able to live my life and mean that I get sick and lose my voice almost every month and if I do not get quality sleep, I can get a cold on top of this. As I am a PSO (Protective Service Officer) this makes doing my job incredible difficult and juggling sick leave has become my biggest issue.
However, with all of this going on, it made me realise that maintaining my physical and mental health is so important. I realised that while I am still reasonably fit and healthy, I need to enjoy my life and do the things I appreciate the most.
So, after 9 years off from football I have come back and have fallen in love with it all over again. I have been luckily enough to play with Southern United and have enjoyed our first few games back into the season.
I cannot imagine giving up football anytime soon and hope to drag my son into loving it too!