From a shock of orange hair running around St Georges Road Primary School’s fields to the Women’s World Cup Cortnee Vine’s story is one of strength and courage.
The Matildas’ wide midfielder, 25, is playing in the biggest tournament of her life on the biggest stage of them all, putting years of graft on the football pitch into practice in front of a worldwide audience.
It’s hard to believe it all started in little old Shepparton.
Vine’s father Gary said her first kick of a ball was in St Georges Road Primary’s under-10 side alongside her older brother Jayden.
“Cortnee was actually too young to play, but wanted to be part of it, so we’d slyly put a jumper on her and let her run around for a couple of minutes every now and then to keep her happy,” Gary said.
“She loved just doing what Jayden did to start off with.”
Gary grew up playing the world game for Shepparton City and later Shepparton South during the 1980s, bringing his children up in Shepparton until a move to Queensland in 2005.
Vine was six, getting a run in the under-10s where she could.
She loved playing in a competitive environment against the boys and, like many stars of the women’s game now, this is where she gained the upper hand.
When the family packed up and shipped off to Queensland, there was a little club that would secure the services of a future Matilda.
Deception Bay, the ‘‘Crabs’’.
Vine also turned out for Redcliffe Dolphins and played with the boys until under-16s, when she was no longer allowed to lace up alongside the opposite sex.
She later earned a spot in the Queensland Academy of Sport, and that’s where she was eventually picked up by A-League Women’s club Brisbane Roar.
Years of Little Athletics had also made Vine a pocket rocket of a wide player.
Explosive, quick and confident on the ball, she was a dream pick up for the Roar and it came as no surprise to her inner circle when she would make her senior national team debut last year.
But a world cup call-up? That was something even Vine herself was taken aback by.
“She FaceTimed us, we knew there was a selection thing and they were going to cut a couple of players out of the final training squad,” Gary said.
“When we saw her face, we didn’t think she’d made it. She was crying, just the emotion and release.
“It’s such a high intensity environment, so it was a lot of relief. It was a really good moment and we’ve been lucky enough to have caught up with her a couple of times throughout the tournament.
“You see all the work that they do that the public don’t see and all the stuff they go through.
“We couldn’t be prouder of the woman she’s turned out to be, she’s just so focused and committed. It’s just crazy, the commitment there is at that level.
“She’s done a lot of hard stuff, a lot of elite players do go through all that sort of thing, but seeing it from a family side, you hear all of the good times and bad times. It’s pretty impressive ― you can’t put it into words really.”
· Vine and the Matildas play the final group match against Canada on Monday at 8pm.