11 season NBL veteran Shane Froling will coach the NBL1 North Townsville Heat for the upcoming 2023 NBL1 season.
Froling ended his NBL career with the Townsville Crocodiles and started his coaching career up North too. He was the U18s coach for the Heat this past season but his coaching experience extends beyond that, being an assistant coach for the Crocs and was a consultant and assistant for Sydney Uni Flames in the back half of last season.
“After having such a long association with Townsville Basketball back to my playing days, coaching the Heat has always been something I have wanted to do so it is great to get that chance," Froling said.
“This association has developed so many great players and I have had the opportunity to coach a number of them at junior level so it will be nice to get a chance to help them transition into our senior program.
“I can’t wait to get to work with the local guys and start planning around the additions we will need to make through recruiting. I have a philosophy of working towards achieving excellence and that’s what we will push for with this team.”
After coaching the Heat in 2022, which saw Shane's son, Sam Froling star with the team. Now Townville General Manager Mark Wrobel is looking forward to having Froling take charge as coach.
“I really enjoyed being back on the sidelines last year with a great bunch of guys but I thought for the benefit of the program the best move was to look at other coaching options for 2023," he said.
“We are fortunate to have such great coaches as Shane around our association and he was somebody that I immediately targeted at the end of this year’s season.
“Now the work starts in trying to put the right blend of Townsville Basketball juniors with a few external additions on the court to help get Shane the team he needs to an attractive product on the floor and promote our sport in Townsville."
Townsville has now secured both coaches, appointing James Rapinett for the coach of the women's Flames team.
Stay up to date with the NBL1 with the 2023 NBL1 Roster Tracker here.
