Essendon player Courtney Ugle is open about the fact that football saved her life.

The star footballer lost both her parents - her mother to domestic violence - and focused on football in a bid to make something of her life.

She was inspired to take up football in her mid-teens after seeing her older brother Kirk get drafted into the AFL by Collingwood.

Football is a huge part of her life, and takes up a lot of her time as a player in the VFL Women's Australian rules football league.

"Footy is the only sport I was taught as a kid and I've been playing ever since," Ugle said.

"I feel quite lucky that I'm playing with such a good group of people all the time and I can stay physically strong, which is good for my mental health.

"For me, it's also about showing young girls that they can be anything they want to be and that they're worthy to take up these important spaces in our society. I like being able to show people that we honestly can be whatever we want to be."

Off the field, the 27-year-old has been involved in Essendon's First Nation's women's development program.

And as much as she loves the national sport, the Noongar woman from Bunbury in Western Australia knows football can't sustain her forever.

So she's been working to build a speaking business, working with both adults and teenagers to share her inspiring story and hopefully give others hope where they feel like there might be little or none.

Ugle speaks articulately about being quickly developed into one of the leaders within the Essendon team, and also as a spokesperson for domestic violence, resilience, inclusion and overcoming adversity for people all over the country.

Educating ignorant people is a big part of the role she wants to tackle.

"Recently I was speaking at a conference in a room of white men in suits and one of them told me that they didn't know Aboriginal people could have blond hair. He said this straight to my face," Ugle said.

Ugle admits that she was angered by the comment, and was proud of her ability to respond respectfully.

"I believe that there's an education role required that I really want to adopt to help Australians better understand what it means to be an Indigenous woman in modern Australia," she said.

Ugle has also been involved in early intervention and prevention programs for young Indigenous women in a bid to reduce the incidents of domestic violence.

For her, it's about giving back to the community.