If persistence and resilience counts for anything then top St George Referee Association’s (SGFRA) referee, Adrian Arndt has plenty to burn.
After a few years refereeing in the FNSW Premier League competition, Adrian has fought his way into the FFA Hyundai A-League.
His initial year will be spent as a fourth official, where he will hone his skills assisting the referee by managing the technical areas, coaches, coaching staff, substitutions and on field matters out of the view of the referee – not always an easy task!
Adrian started his refereeing career with SGFRA in 2004 and after completing the Level 4 referee course, began refereeing in the junior grades.
He was a regular attendee at training and quickly developed the skills required to start to move into the representative scene, firstly with FNSW EDP and then with the NSWSLFR.
During this time Adrian progressed to the SGFA Premier League competition where, after an initial year or two was elevated to the first grade panel.
Adrian is another product of the highly regarded and successful SGFRA coaching and development system, where he attended weekly training sessions on a regularly basis.
He continues to maintain a presence within the training program, where he assists by offering game day coaching and mentoring for some of the younger members during the winter season.
In 2010 he was selected to attend the National Youth Championships in Coffs Harbour, finishing as, referee of the tournament, which is no mean feat considering the competition provided by referees from the other
states.
After being identified by FFA as a prospective elite referee, Adrian attended the National High Schools Championship in 2011 (Adelaide) and 2013 (Canberra).
During this period he was also a member of the Foxtel National Youth League panel and a graduate of the newly formed National Talent Pool.