Puella Nautam Amat
Who knew that one day this little girl would fall in love with football... and then, decades later, with words?
The girl loves the sailor. I discovered I loved words.
A Lifelong Learner?
The other day my daughter-in-law said something that made me stop and think.
"You're a lifelong learner."
I smiled, but it stayed with me.
I hadn't really thought of myself that way before. Football has certainly taught me plenty over the years, but "lifelong learner" wasn't a description I would ever have chosen for myself.
Then I started thinking back to boarding school.
Fiat Lux
Unlike many of my classmates, I chose to study Latin because I was convinced I was going to study law at university. Somehow, six years of Latin seemed like a sensible idea at the time.
Life, thankfully, had other plans.
I don't remember much of it now.
I remember Canon Pierard sweeping into the classroom with a booming Fiat lux! before someone dutifully switched on the lights.
I remember saying grace in Latin before meals.
And I still remember puella nautam amat.
It means, "The girl loves the sailor."
For years I wondered why I'd spent six years learning a language that, as far as I could tell, had absolutely no practical application to my life.
The sailor certainly never turned up.
Neither did law school.
Life Had Other Plans
Instead, football happened.
Football became my career, my volunteer work, my passion and, in many ways, my education.
Committee meetings replaced courtrooms.
Football grounds replaced lecture theatres.
The years rolled by and I never really gave Latin another thought.
Until now.
An Unexpected Discovery
Because over the past eight months something quite unexpected has happened.
I've discovered that I absolutely love writing.
That has surprised me more than anyone.
Not because I think I'm a journalist. I'm not.
I'm simply someone who enjoys asking questions, researching issues, listening to people, challenging my own thinking and trying to tell stories that matter.
I've interviewed people I admire.
I've written about grassroots football, governance, facilities, junior football, the Socceroos, the Matildas, the FIFA World Cup and, most importantly, the wonderful people who make our game what it is.
Some articles have been easy to write.
Others have taken days of research.
Every single one has taught me something.
Perhaps my daughter-in-law was right.
Perhaps I really am a lifelong learner.
And perhaps those years of Latin weren't completely wasted after all.
Maybe they taught me something I didn't appreciate at the time.
That words matter.
That language has rhythm.
That there is satisfaction in searching for exactly the right word instead of settling for almost the right one.
Everyone Wins
One thing I've also learnt over the past eight months is that if you discover something you genuinely love doing...
...you tend to do quite a lot of it.
Which probably explains why readers of Tassie Football Central have stumbled across rather a large number of my football articles over the past eight months.
Matthew has been incredibly generous in allowing me to share them and, if I'm honest, I suspect there have been times when people have thought, "Oh no... not another Victoria Morton article!"
That's perfectly okay.
Football people are wonderfully patient, but even I have to admit that another 2,000-word article appearing in your feed every second day might be a bit much.
So I've decided to make a small change...I'm not going to stop writing.
If anything, I'll probably write more.
I won't stop interviewing people.
I won't stop researching football issues.
I won't stop writing about grassroots football, governance, the Socceroos, the Matildas or the people who make our game such a fascinating part of Australian life.
The difference is that it won't be quite so "in your face."
From now on, Victoria Morton Football will remain the home of my writing, with every article also published through my free Substack newsletter.
If you enjoy reading my articles, you can subscribe and every new article will arrive automatically in your inbox.
If you don't enjoy reading them...
...well, your Facebook feed has just become a little quieter.
Everyone wins.
Thank You
I'd also like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Matthew at TFC for allowing me to share my articles with the TFC community over the past eight months.
The amount of time he gives to Tasmanian football is extraordinary. Anyone who has run a football page knows it isn't just the posts people see. It's the messages, the moderation, the constant updates, the conversations behind the scenes and the commitment to keeping people informed.
I'll continue to proudly support TFC and write my weekly coverage of the NPL Under 21 competition because I genuinely appreciate what Matthew has built for football in Tasmania.
To everyone who has taken the time to read, comment, disagree, encourage, share an article or simply send me a private message...
Thank you.
Writing has become one of the great surprises of my life.
At sixty-eight, I never expected to discover something that makes me look forward to sitting down with a cup of tea and a blank screen quite as much as this does.
If you'd like to continue the journey with me, I'd be delighted to have you along.
Subscribing is completely free.
Simply click Subscribe free below, enter your email address, and every new article will arrive automatically in your inbox.
Perhaps It Was Useful After All
And as for puella nautam amat...
After all these years, perhaps puella nautam amat was never really about a girl and a sailor.
Perhaps it was simply the beginning of a lifelong love affair with words.