Calvin Hegvold lives and breathes basketball.

As a player, coach and club volunteer, his enthusiasm and spirit for the game is unwavering.

“I just like to pitch in where I can… I do it because I love it,” said Hegvold.

This love for the game was formed early on in life. His grandfather Eddie Hegvold was the president of Rockhampton Basketball; his father John, a stand-out player.

“I spent a lot of time around the courts as a kid, so I guess you could say I was always going to play or be involved in some capacity,” said Hegvold.

His fondest memories are of the Rockhampton May Day Carnival and watching on as some of Queensland’s top talents took to the court.

“Just about every team in Queensland would come… that was where the magic happened, those were the good old days!”

Calvin went on to play representative basketball in Rockhampton for a number of years, before making his way to Brisbane to pursue a teaching career.

But his passion and involvement in the sport remained constant.

“I ended up playing for North West Districts in Brisbane, then got a teaching job in Ipswich and started playing there as well,” said Hegvold.

Calvin’s love for coaching was ignited when he began working with his daughter’s club team in the late 90s, then going on to coach at a representative level.

“I’ve coached every age group in rep from Under 12s to Under 21s in the juniors. I also coached SBL (QSL) and was the Women’s assistant coach in the QBL (NBL1).

I’ve loved coaching players like Ryan Jeffries, Catherine McGregor and Emily Tahata and Tali Notoa as juniors and watching them go on to achieve great things in the sport,” he said.

2023 marks Hegvold’s 30th year with the Ipswich Basketball Association, making him an invaluable member of their community.  

“We just have really good people here and kids that really appreciate the opportunity to play the game and love the game and I’m happy to be a part of that.”

He reflects on the full circle moment; from a budding young basketballer in Rockhampton, to a coach and mentor in Ipswich with his family right by his side.

“It mirrors the way that I grew up - my grandad running the association and my dad playing - our family just basically grew up at the Rockhampton courts and the difference is that I'm doing the same thing down here with my family, only at Ipswich,” said Hegvold.

Calvin Hegvold hopes to pass on his love and passion for the game to those in the community for many more years to come.

‍