LIFE MEMBER #98
Damien Breen
Marrying into the PIERSON clan was never going to be an easy escape from being seconded into playing cricket for the Grange Cricket Club but Damien embraced the club and its culture from the moment he walked through our doors for the very first time in 2008 and has proved to be a loyal and hard working servant of the club.
Married to Melissa (daughter of Andrew Pierson) who is always supportive of active sport along with a daughter Sophie and son Patrick, the family have been a huge part of our club over the last 16 great years. In that time Damien amassed 154 games and scored 2,097 runs as a player and he has in his archives a C Grade batting trophy (2014-15) and a C Grade fielding award (2017-18) as reminders of this playing days. In that time has been a C and D Grade captain for five seasons, club secretary for three terms, committee person as well as holding the all important portfolio of junior coordinator for three years and the Woolworth’s Blasters program for three seasons. Damien was deservedly recognised with two Best Club person awards for his service to the Dolphins.
Always one for understanding the importance of growth in a sporting club and with an innovative mind he made tentative steps in forming a disabled team a numbers of seasons ago with encouragement from SACA and when ultimately this venture failed due to lack of interest and support from higher authorities, he had persevered at the time with positivity. When the venture became doomed he quickly moved on to other challenges as they beckoned, such was his keenness for hard work with a desire to improve many different areas of the club.
These days his passion is coaching junior kids and watching his son Patrick progress through the age groups and ultimately helping prepare them to make the next step into senior cricket. In the summer months he is an extremely busy person being involved at West Torrens District Cricket Club as a junior coach on Saturdays and doubling up on Sunday mornings as coach of the Grange Under 12 Blue team.
In May 2022 the was named SACA Volunteer of the Year for community cricket in South Australia in recognition of his servitude to grassroots cricket .
President Rob Gordon was honoured to award Damien with his Life Membership at the 141st AGM this week.
