As the chief executive officer of his County FA, there are few people more experienced at all levels of the game than Adam Lowthorpe.
The East Riding FA boss has seen it all in his region, from growing up as a boy in the local junior leagues, playing professionally for hometown club Hull City and then coming back to work in the community.
Now, he oversees a whole variety of football matters in the area whether that is working with the Charter Standard bearing and thriving Hull Boy’s Sunday League, driving more people to play the game, developing Respect, equality and diversity in the game or even dealing with disciplinary matters in the grassroots game.
Lowthorpe is East Riding CFA's chief executive
It is certainly keeping Lowthorpe’s hands full, but with the current feel-good factor taking place in the region thanks to Hull City’s FA Cup fortunes, the 38-year-old is in positive mood.
"What I try to do on a day-to-day basis, and there are always jobs different to others, is to be pro-active," Lowthorpe told TheFA.com.
"There are always things in place which you desperately want to do and at the moment, we’re working towards equality standard.
"And there’s the reactive stuff that just happens, such as during the season when there’s lots of games taking place.
"You need to get that balance right and have a clear vision as where you want to be as a County.
"The Hull Boys Sunday League were the first in the country to get Charter Standard League status and there is a thriving youth set-up around here.
"We are very close to our leagues and we work with them on a lot of issues and I think that strong relationship between County FAs and leagues and clubs is essential.
"It’s sometimes overlooked, but it’s a partnership which requires a lot of work and is fundamental if you want to get growing numbers every year."
It is a pathway which Lowthorpe knows well, having signed for Hull as a trainee after impressing in local junior football.
Adam Lowthorpe also represented England at Futsal, seen here in action against France
After captaining the youth team, the defender was promoted into the first team and made almost 100 appearances alongside the likes of Dean Windass during the mid-90s.
And the memories of those days still live with Lowthorpe, who is now a regular at the KC Stadium as a fan.
"I’m a local lad and I was brought up as a Hull City fan and that was the team I supported as a boy, so to play for them was good," he explained.
"I was 18 when I made my debut against Bradford City and Dean [Windass] got sent off after 10 minutes!
"We won 3-1, but it was a big Yorkshire derby and we went to the top of the old Third Division, so it was a big game to make my debut in.
"You’re more reflective after the event than you are going through it, but to play for the team that you supported as a boy and run out at Boothferry Park was something I’ll never forget.
"It only happened once, but I scored at the South Stand end, which was the big terrace where I used to stand as a lad, and that remains a really vivid memory for me.
"There’s always a lot of changes in your life but that’s a memory that you’ll never forget, the pride you feel from representing your home city."
After leaving the club, Lowthorpe put that disappointment behind him and went to university to pursue a separate career.
“What I try to do on a day-to-day basis is to be pro-active”
Adam Lowthorpe East Riding FA chief executive
But with his talents still in demand at non-League level, football remained in his blood and it was not long before he was back in the game.
"It was Mark Hateley’s first year in charge at the club when he informed me that he wouldn’t be renewing my contract," recalls Lowthorpe.
"But I always had it in the back of my mind that I would want to go back to university and when I got released from Hull, I played for Gainsborough and then North Ferriby and went to York St. John University and did a degree in Leisure Management.
"I was also coaching at Hull City both in their centre of excellence and their community programme.
"That was my first real taste of getting back into local grassroots and once I finished university, I got a job with Hull City Council working on the Preston Road Estate, one of the most deprived areas of Hull.
"That really put me back into the grassroots stuff and then I had a chance to come to the County FA as Football Development Officer.
"So I’ve come right through the system!"
Now Lowthorpe is putting his football experience to good use and back into the local community, with East Riding proving to be one of the most active and respected of all the County FAs in the country.
