MOAMA’S Kirk Teasdale has an addiction to being helpful.
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If it were humanly possible, he could quite easily been become one of the first people to be diagnosed with a word allergy.
Kirk just doesn’t know when to say no.
Currently he has numerous roles across several organisations.
He is the Moama Cricket Club president, he sits on the Goulburn Murray Cricket board and is the chair of St Joseph’s College finance committee – just to name a few.
And he manages to do all that while being a director of accountancy firm Peats Partners.
Yet somehow, he manages to fit all that in plus family time at home.
“Hard work was something mum and dad (Judy and Roger) taught us from a very young age,” Kirk said.
“We were always doing jobs at home because it was all about working together to get things done.
“As a kid, I learnt pretty quickly just how important it is to give back and that’s something I still believe today.”
“Sometimes I probably need to learn to say no,” he joked.
“But I just love being able to help out in different atmospheres and environments.
“It all starts at home and I think that’s why I try and stay active in the community.”
The Teasdale family name is famous at the Moama cricket and football clubs, but Kirk is modest when it comes to his own accomplishments.
He would much prefer to talk about what Judy and Roger have achieved.
“What people say about the family is mainly built around mum and dad,” he said.
“Dad was a legend at the footy club. He didn’t just win club best and fairest but league medals as well.
“He was a gun footballer and tennis player. I might have him covered on the cricket field, but I’ve been told he was a bit of a D grade legend back in the day.
“Mum still plays a massive role in helping to run the recreation reserve.
“If it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t have the play park.
“They’re contributions to the Echuca-Moama have been nothing short of amazing.”
Not to be outdone, Kirk has his own impressive local sporting CV.
It includes nine A grade cricket premierships, three football reserves premierships and numerous GMC representative team selections.
“I’ve been very lucky to experience a lot of success,” he explained.
“But the premierships outweigh any individual achievement I’ve had.
“That’s why you play the game. You spend a whole season alongside your mates all working towards the same goal. To come away with the ultimate success is a special feeling.
“Rep cricket is something I’ve always enjoyed. One of the strange things about it is that you go away with a totally different bunch of guys.
“When you go away with them you respect them and meet some great people. You’re usually against them when you’re playing for your club and it’s about beating them.
“Those experiences have really opened up my eyes to how well the GMC has developed over the years.”
Despite admitting he might just be reaching the end of his career, Kirk is yet to put a date on that last walk back to the pavilion.
With so many young guns coming through the Moama ranks, it would be a massive blow to lose a player who has captained the club for 10 years – on and off.
“The love of the game keeps me coming back every year,” he said.
“The body is getting closer to retirement but I’m not ready just yet. While I still enjoy the game, I’m going to keep playing.
“I think playing with the younger guys who are only 18 or 19 helps me feel young.”
“Plus, it’s always good when you can make the younger guys field the longer balls,” he joked.
On-field performance is just one layer of Kirk’s cricket career as he has continued to work behind the scenes to make Moama the best club it possibly can be.
And it all started when he was just a teenager.
“When I was about 18 and 19, we had a lot of senior people leave of the club,” Kirk recalled.
“There was no one to take over the club. A few of us younger guys knew we needed to step up to keep the club going.
“That meant we were doing things like rolling the pitch, selecting teams and run training.
“It was a massive learning curve, but I’ll always be proud of what we were able to achieve.”
Despite being more heavily involved with the cricket club, Kirk said he was still always willing to do his part for footy during winter.
Even it means stepping out in driving rain.
“Since I’ve retired, I probably umpire half a dozen games for the reserves a year when they struggle to find someone,” he said.
“When I was a player there was always someone putting their hand up to umpire and without them the game wouldn’t go ahead.
“It all comes back to giving back to the sporting community.”
In recent years, Kirk has taken up coaching footy.
It all started with Moama’s Auskick program, but he now finds himself in the hot seat of the Magpies under 12 team – although season 2020 has looked very different.
“We’ve been very fortunate in Moama to be able to still have some sort of program,” he said.
“I have coached my own kids and it probably will get to a point where they’ll be sick of me.
“Sometimes you can be a little bit harder on your own kids when you don’t mean to be.
“If you’re seen to be harder on your kids, the others might not feel as threatened.
“But they all want to play in the middle or at full-forward though.
“I’ve enjoyed coaching and I’m looking forward to continue developing my skills.”
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