Rod, who has many years experience in coaching basketball, will take the team, consisting of players from different teams in the western junior league, under his wing and guide them through a demanding CPL season.

“It’s quite an honour and a great opportunity to be able to work with athletes at this level,” Rod said.

“We need to come together as a team and develop our strategies and tactics with the aim to make the CPL semi finals.”

The foru round competition which starts in March, will see Rod and his team travel to Canberra, the Central Coast, Maitland and Coffs Harbour to compete, gaining valuable experience and knowledge on the court.

“They’re a very athletic and talented bunch of athletes with good attitudes; our expectations are that we will come together well and compete strongly,” Rod said.

“The whole idea of participating in something like this is to give the athletes from the western region the chance to play at a higher level amid tougher competition and a higher standard of basketball.”

The western region starts the season competing in the Pacific Slam tournament at Port Macquarie next week where they will face-off against two New Zealand national sides, the NSW Kookaburras and the North Coast. The week-long competition will be in the format of a round robin tournament. 

During his Naval career Rod took on the coaching role of the NSW and ACT Combined Service sides, and was also the Australian Defence Force national men’s coach from 1983 to 1986, later becoming a basketball referee in the National basketball League (NBL) for around 10 years.

Rod also had a long career as a basketball referee in both the national basketball league and internationally.

Recently he has become involved in the Western Regional Academy of Sport, now in his second year as a head coach with the three years prior to that as an assistant coach.

And not forgetting his role in Young, Rod has spent the last six years assisting local teams find their feet on the court.

“I got back into it to assist young people to play basketball,” Rod said. “The desire to coach kids to develop strong fundamental skills is the driving force behind my coaching.” 

Just when you thought that he couldn’t possibly fit in anything else; Rod is also the assistant coach of the Under 16s Men’s Western Reds side.

And when asked how he was going to fit in all this coaching throughout the year, his answer was simple.

“Like I normally do. It’s just a matter of planning and organising, and hoping I don’t get the dates mixed up,” he laughed.