Harry Spencer OAM

Neville Harold Roy (Harry) Spencer commenced coaching basketball as a 14-year-old in Armidale. A move to Toowoomba in 1972, began a prestigious coaching career that would span over half a century, of not only developing competitive skills, but providing inspiration and positivity to teams at local, state, national and international level.

Harry Spencer has established a long-term involvement with local Toowoomba clubs that progressed to coaching South Queensland Zone juniors at the pre-classics State Championships (1974 - mid 1980s), winning state championships with the under 18 girls in 1977 and 1978, coaching Toowoomba under 16 and under 18 girls’ teams at the state classics (mid 1980s – 2010); and coaching South Queensland Zone senior women’s teams at Queensland state championships, including winning the State Championships in 1975.

Harry was coach of the Queensland under 18 women from 1977 - 1979, where these teams dominated in every final at the Australian Championships, runner-up in 1977 and 1979 and National Champions in 1978. As coach again in 1985 and 1987, Harry Spencer became one of Queensland basketball’s most successful under 18 state coaches resulting in his selection by the Australian Basketball Federation as a coach of the All-Australian under 18 Women’s Camp for three years, 1985, 1986 and 1988.In 1984, Harry Spencer was selected by the Oceania Basketball Confederation in the challenging role as a coach and coach-mentor at the Olympic Solidarity Course in Basketball Coaching in Papua New Guinea. As in the All-Australian camps, Harry’s extraordinary contribution was recognised for not only developing players but also for sharing his coaching methods and techniques for the benefit of other coaches.

Harry Spencer is also Queensland basketball’s most prolific senior women’s basketball coach, undertaking a tour of Canada and Hawaii in December 1978/January 1979, after previously coaching the Queensland senior women at the 1975 Australian Championships and subsequently at the 1979 and 1980 Australian Championships.

Harry played for one of Queensland Basketball’s most decorated men’s teams, The Toowoomba Mountaineers, from 1972-1974, but made his mark as the foundation coach of the Mountaineers on their entry as inaugural members of the XXXX Queensland State Basketball League in 1986, then notably as runners-up in 1989 and champions in 1990 and 1991. He continues this association over the past decade having coached the women’s team and as assistant coach of the Mountaineers in the men’s Queensland State League Division 1.

Harry Spencer’s distinguished, strategic coaching career and exceptional contribution to basketball has been recognised with life memberships to local clubs and nationally with the Australian Sports Medal (2000), and in 2010, the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM).

These successes, as well as instilling positive life values, providing inspiration, encouragement, support, guidance and inclusivity, through basketball makes Harry Spencer a most worthy inductee into the Queensland Basketball Hall of Fame.