The state role is the next step in McIntyre’s coaching pathway. 

McIntyre herself played in the junior state program and said it had been a goal for her to be on the other side as a coach. 

“I saw the applications came out and thought I would put one in and hopefully get an interview,” she said.

“I was pretty surprised to get the job. I’ve had an extensive playing history through those programs when I was younger and I always had a goal to be part of the coaching team for the state program. I wanted to see both sides.

“I was excited to get the call that they wanted to offer me the job. An experience to work with elite athletes and elite basketballers as well as coaches is something I can’t put a value on. It’s basically a cadetship position where I can learn as much as possible.”

McIntyre hopes her experience as a player means she will know the needs and concerns of the girls in the side. 

“The benefit for me is I can understand how they are feeling during the process,” she said.

“It’s an extensive selective process and they only choose 10 players and two emergencies for the side. I’ve been through that process numerous times and have been able to compete at two Australian championships, and fortunate enough to win a gold at one of them.”

McIntyre has turned her focus to developing her basketball coaching throughout the past 12 months. 

“It’s been the last 12 months when I got back into having basketball coaching as a goal of mine personally, and I had that vision to do this and expand that,” she said.

“It’s really humbling to get selected for this position and I one hundred per cent will grab it with everything I can and learn from everything I can see. Matt Holmes, the head coach, is such an accomplished coach and I’m looking forward to being part of that process.

“Ultimately, I will be able to bring that home to my coaching at Horsham in that grassroots level. I will then be able to help the children learn in the way the state body wants players to learn.”