As someone who has a passion for running, umpiring seemed like the right fit for David.
Recruited into umpiring through a school program on the Gold Coast, David found his new passion for umpiring. Starting in 2006 as a junior field umpire for one season, he soon transitioned over to boundary umpiring until the end of the 2010 season.
David then stopped umpiring from 2011, as he joined the army as an Artilleryman and moved to Darwin. David then transferred to become a physical training instructor during 2015. After living in Sydney for one year, he recommenced umpiring in 2017, where he started out in the Sydney Premier Division and debuted in the NEAFL in the same year.
David made his AFLW debut in 2018 along with umpiring his first NEAFL Grand Final. In the same year David was selected as the NSW/ACT NEAFL Boundary Umpire of the year. His career highlight was umpiring the 2019 AFLW Preliminary Final.
As a boundary umpire in a high-octane environment, continually searching for improvement but also having the ability to be rigid and structured and being able to step back and live in the moment is what motivates David.
Umpiring in the NEAFL means that both the AFL & NEAFL umpires train together. This has meant that he has been able to learn and feed off the AFL level boundary umpires, which David believes has helped him to progress and improve so quickly.
All within 10 months, the Ex All Saints Anglican College student became engaged, got married, bought and renovated a house. What an effort!
For future umpires, David said to always be open to any advice or feedback and then implement the advice or feedback straight away in order to improve. Also to maintain your strengths but work even harder on your weaknesses and be prepared because you never know when an opportunity may arise.
We wish David all the best for the year ahead.
Article written by: AFLUA Marketing and Communications Coordinator, Peter Kelly and Year 11 Work Experience Student, Jackson Sleep