Horsham basketball's Gareth Hiscock dedicated to the sport

Hiscock was an assistant coach for the Lady Hornets in their 2013-14 and 2014-15 Country Basketball League campaigns before he took the coaching reins in the three seasons that followed.

His first foray into the sport came in Goroke, where he was born and bred.

“There was a very amateur basketball competition over there that I played in, but that was sort of it for me,” he said.

Hiscock’s time with the Horsham association and the Hornets stems from when his twin daughters Georgia and Ally started playing in under 12s.

“I was a parent who knew little about how basketball operated, and identified there was probably a bit of a lack of coaches there,” he said.

“I was lucky enough to be able to spend five years as an assistant coach to Owen Hughan, then I spent two years as assistant coach to Sharon Fedke with the Lady Hornets before taking on the role of coach.

“Owen’s philosophy is reasonably simple. It's about empowering your players to make decisions and read the opposition.

“You can have all your set structures under the sun, but they can collapse if people don't understand each other.

“If you can empower players to make a read on the game, it makes it difficult for opposition coaches to defend them. Whereas with a set structure, opposition coaches can soon work that out.”

Hiscock said basketball had given him many highlights, including the opportunity to coach his daughters and work with his wife Vivian on the sidelines.

“I was probably harder on the girls than the other players. But I think that's just natural, and most coaches who coach their kids would be the same,” he said.

“It’s good having the family involved. It’s a very family-oriented association.”

Hiscock has not shut the door on coaching basketball again, but for now his focus is on the administrative side of the sport, particularly a proposed multi-purpose sports stadium in Horsham and what that would mean for the association.

Related: Sports stadium plans on hold

“With every sport I’ve been involved in, I’ve been involved in the administration side,” he said.

“I’ve done admin with cricket clubs, I’ve been the president of footy clubs, and the president of the basketball association. I've always enjoyed that side of things.

“With the current situation with the stadium, it's something I can see that if we didn't stand up for our rights, it's going to be an awful result for basketball.

“That's my main administrative role now.”