Darren is the kind of person always ready for a challenge. At the age of 13 he was diagnosed with a bone tumour in his right leg and with a “never say die” attitude fought the battle of his life over 3 years of intense treatment including chemotherapy and many operations. As a result Darren had his right leg amputated below the knee in December 1999.

Before Darren was diagnosed with cancer he was very active with sport being a major part of his life; playing AFL, swimming and mountain biking. He tried to continue as much as this as possible during his treatment but had not been able to compete with a team in nearly 4 years in any sport. He was desperate to get back into team sport as soon as he had his leg amputated and was declared healthy by his doctors. In March 2000 Darren started playing wheelchair basketball.

Despite the challenges of missing school due to hospital stays Darren maintained good grades and finished his Higher School Certificate in 2002. He was accepted into the University of Sydney in 2003 studying for a Bachelor of Science (Environmental) graduating in December 2005 with a high credit average.

While juggling Basketball and University, Darren has also done work with the Children’s Cancer Institute of Australia (CCIA), is a volunteer fire fighter with the Rural Fire Service, and also a member of the Wheelchair Sports NSW Roadshow Presentation Team, presenting important safety message to schools and universities NSW wide about the importance of Road Safety on behalf of the Motor Accidents Authority.

Darren is one very determined and motivated person with a hard work ethic. When he began to play basketball he came along in leaps and bounds. He first played in the Sydney local leagues then moving up playing with the Wollongong Roller Hawks in the debut season and for the following four years he remained playing with Wollongong winning one National League Championship with the team. In 2005 Darren moved to the West Sydney Razorbacks and was a key member in the Razorbacks National Championship victory in 2005. Since 2005 West Sydney Razorbacks have been runners up in 2006, 2007 and picking up the bronze in 2008.

Darren has also represented Australia at various tournaments and made his debut with the Australian Men’s Rollers Team in Manchester in May 2005. The team finished overall 3rd with Japan and USA finishing 2nd and 1st respectively. He also played as an import in the New Zealand National Tournament in 2005 receiving MVP for the tournament.

It was while playing in Birmingham, England that Darren was scouted by the Head Coach of the University of Wisconsin, Whitewater (UWW), which saw him accept a college scholarship to play for the Warhawks in 2006-7 season. He was named in the Warhawks starting 5 for the season and played in integral role in amazing 28-2 win/loss record for the season. The Warhawks became National College Champions overpowering Edinboro, Pennsylvania University in the championship game.