From assistant refereeing for pocket money as a 14-year-old to making it to the National Youth Championships, Courtney Van Diesen has proven with resilience and hard work; anything is possible.
Courtney may have started as a club assistant referee at her local South Australian club; however, she didn’t discover her passion for the whistle until she made the move to the middle of the pitch.
“My journey is a funny story. I was in the South Australian state country team where we went and played in an international tournament in Fiji and we did the Level 4 Referee Course as our post-tournament breakup,” she said.
“I decided to keep going with it and back in my local country league in South Australia for a little bit of pocket money and have loved it ever since.
“It is completely different to playing, with the added benefit that you don’t get injured as you do as a player.
“Being a referee allows you to understand the game a bit more and it keeps your fitness up.
“I think it is just about being able to contribute to the game in a different aspect.”
In 2017, she relocated to Bendigo for university and explained her journey has only continued to progress since making the move to Football Victoria.
Since Courtney relocated to Bendigo for university in 2017, her referring journey has “all progressed from there”.
“I was nominated for the Victorian Referee Academy in 2020, and then last year progressed to the talent pool, allowing me to make my NPL U21s debut, NPLW debut, and be selected for the National Youth Championships for Girls in Coffs Harbour, where I was then chosen to officiate the U16 Girls Grand Final and was awarded Referee of the Tournament.”
Courtney said participating in her first National Youth Championships was an “unbelievable experience."
“It has been a goal of mine from when I first hit the academy and found out about nationals, that I thought I was good enough to be there and I wanted to be there,” she said.
“Last year was full of huge accomplishments for me referee-wise, as I was also an assistant referee for the Nike F.C. Cup Final and a reserve assistant referee for the NPLW Final, which took me by complete surprise.
“I only had three games in the NPLW last season towards the end of the season, but when NPL Referee Manager Michael Fabian called me saying that purely based on your performance as a referee this season we would like to offer it (NPLW Reserve Assistant Referee) to you as we want you to be involved, I couldn’t decline.
“It was a great experience, but it was just very difficult to just sit there and watch.”
Despite being a male-dominated field, Van Diesen explained that the Football Victoria referring community was a safe space for everyone.
“It doesn’t matter if I am female as the boys because they just see me as one of them,” she said.
“The morale between the referees off the field is one of the best parts, it is a little community that we have. They just want the best for everyone.
“I am always asking the boys for help on and off the field, who are always willing to help and who are always hyping me up.
After a highly successful year behind her, Courtney indicated she was hopeful of reaching higher heights moving forward.
“I’m on the NPLW panel this year so I have set a goal of at least 10 games in the middle,” she said.
“I have also set my sights on making it to the A-League either at the end of this season or the end of next season.”