CHAMPIONSHIP-winning coach Chris Riches will return to Ipswich basketball in 2027, taking charge of the Lady Force with the experience of a title-winning campaign and a determination to lift the women’s program up the NBL1 North ladder.
After two seasons away, the coach who guided the Ipswich men to the 2023 NBL1 North championship faces a new challenge with a women’s side that finished 11th this season.
The appointment also takes Riches back to where his senior coaching career began, bringing his experience in women’s basketball to a program he believes has a proud history and plenty to build on.
“The women’s program has a very long and storied legacy where it has been quite successful,” Riches said.
Conversations with Ipswich basketball stalwart Georgia Ralph opened the door to his return, while discussions with other players rekindled his enthusiasm for coaching.
“I’ve been missing the sport for a little bit and those conversations ignited me again because everyone’s kind of pulling in the same direction.”
His immediate focus is shaping the 2027 roster, with retaining a core group from this season’s squad and exploring pathways for Ipswich’s emerging players among the priorities as he begins building towards the new campaign.
While the 2023 championship remains the standout achievement of his time with Ipswich’s men, Riches believes the seasons that ended without silverware taught him lessons that will be just as valuable in his return.
“While it was great to have won it in 2023, a lot of the learning is really in the seven years or the six other years that you don’t actually win anything,” he said.
His return to the Force coincides with a new chapter in his education career, having left Ipswich State High School earlier this year after a decade, and starting last week as Deputy Principal at The Industry School.
As he settles into that role and prepares for the basketball season ahead, Riches is reluctant to forecast how many games the Lady Force can win.
“I think it’s very easy for us to attach a simplistic sort of forecast of wins and losses and different things like that,” he said.
“We come from a region that is all about hard work, and that’s exactly what we will be about.
“That will start far before you see anything on the court or game night.”
