Basketball: Kane Butler named new Tamworth Thunderbolts men's coach

That is why he made a habit of visiting his pop in the Quirindi aged care facility throughout his youth. It is why he chose a career as an disability support worker at Sunnyfield.

And it is why, despite being aged just 22 and having played basketball since the age of six, Butler always felt innately drawn to coaching.

"When I was playing, I always wanted to coach," Butler said.

"I loved the different kinds of X's and O's. Coaching has just always been something that I enjoyed more than playing."

Despite his tender age and relative inexperience in the coaching sphere, Butler was recently named the Tamworth Thunderbolts men's head coach for 2023.

His appointment, Tamworth Basketball Association president Scott Ward said, was driven by Butler's passion, knowledge of the game, and calm disposition.

"As a young guy, he's really passionate about his coaching and prepared to stick his hand up for everything," Ward said.

"He's very even keel. He's not a high-emotion guy, which is really good to have on the sideline, and he's really quite knowledgeable."

A self-confessed geek of the game, Butler admitted that he even cops flak from his mates because he'd "much rather go watch a Sydney Kings game than go to a party".

But that dedication will be welcome among the Thunderbolts, many of whom he has known and played alongside since childhood, until he began playing for Quirindi in age group representative basketball.

Having begun coaching at the age of 17, Butler assisted Mitch Balderston and Matt Hobson on court with the Youth League men's team in 2022.

Although the link between his job and his new role with the Thunderbolts may not be obvious, Butler believes that his professional experience in disability care will actually help make him a better coach.

"I just love helping people, and some of the training methods from basketball can be implemented at work sometimes, and vice versa," Butler said.

"How to communicate with people, I've learned from work how to better communicate with my players."

2023 will be Butler's first experience in charge of a senior team. But rather than being nervous, he was "very chuffed" to land the gig, and hopes it is the start of a journey to coaching at the highest level.

"I would love to," Butler said of the thought of one day coaching a professional team.

"I've got a lot of work to go towards that, but that's something that [I'm aiming for] ... that's something that I absolutely would love."

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