Swampscott’s Breen takes the reins at Mansfield

New England is bracing for another long winter, but Joe Breen can only think about baseball.
Breen, a 2001 graduate of Swampscott High, was just named head baseball coach at Mansfield High School.
?Coaching is what I always wanted to do,” said the 31-year-old Breen. “It started when I was a kid. My father was a huge influence in my athletic career; he wanted me to go out there and enjoy myself.”
Breen?s father, E.J. Breen, played hockey at Boston College and coached hockey at Swampscott High and Lynn Classical. He also coached his son?s Little League baseball teams in Nahant, setting the foundation for a love affair with baseball that is stronger now than ever.
?I?ve been involved in baseball my whole life,” he said. “Growing up, my best friends loved baseball, and we loved going down to the ballpark together every day and getting better at the game.”
In 1995 at the age of 12, Breen moved from Nahant to Swampscott. In his first year in his new town, he helped Swampscott Little League capture a district championship. The next year he helped his Swampscott Babe Ruth team win a Massachusetts state title.
?That was the turning point for me in baseball,” he said. “I learned the more detailed part of the game, and the commitment required to win and reach your goals. That?s when I turned the corner and realized all I wanted to do was play baseball.”
Breen played his high school career for the legendary Frank DeFelice, who won 465 games in 35 years of coaching at Swampscott High.
?I can?t leave out thanks for Frank DeFelice,” said Breen. “He was hard on his players, but you knew when he was hard you, it?s because he cared. That?s something I certainly look to instill in my coaching philosophy. I?m going to demand and expect a lot from my players, but I?m also going to give them the tools to help get them there.”
Following a year at prep school, Breen played on the collegiate level as a right-handed pitcher for Stonehill College. One of his incoming senior captains at Mansfield is the son of his former coach at Stonehill.
?I?ve worked in this area for a long time, and it reminds me a lot of Swampscott,” said Breen. “I want to make this a program that is consistently competitive and one of the top programs in the state. I want to build the type of consistency so we don?t rebuild, we reload.”
Breen coached on Stonehill?s baseball staff for three seasons, and has also served as the director of operations for the RBI Baseball Academy since 2006. RBI sits on the Foxboro-Mansfield line, so Breen is familiar with some of his new players.
?RBI allowed me the opportunity to coach and learn aspects of the professional world while still teaching baseball,” he said. “There is a lot of talent in this town, and for this high school program to be any less than a top program in the state is a shame. If we work hard, it?s very attainable.”
While there are no plans for Mansfield to play the Big Blue, Breen is planning to inject the same enthusiasm and love for the game he learned at Swampscott. “I?m a firm believer that the kids are going to feed off your energy and your passion,” said Breen. “It?s going to be tough to not enjoy the game of baseball when you?re around me on a baseball field. I certainly have an energy and passion for the game, and that?s something I look to instill in my players. I hold myself to a high standard, and I want the kids to meet my level.”