But Balsar's maiden campaign at the Snakepit was quickly turned on its head, after just one game, when COVID-19 put a halt on all basketball activities in NSW.

The Hawks' assault on the youth league one season was then postponed until July 18 and altered, so each team only played each other once.

Despite these interruptions, as well as injury concerns and teams such as Newcastle and Maitland withdrawing mid-season due to travel restrictions, Balsar's Hawks just missed out on the finals by finishing in sixth on the ladder.

"I'd rate my first season with the Hawks as reasonably positive considering its stop-start nature and the strict guidelines put in place around playing in indoor facilities," Balsar said.

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"Mentally it was a drain but I was pleased once we started again, we continued to play through the pandemic - getting 10 games in for the season.

"Obviously you set your goals to make the playoffs and we just fell short of achieving this but we definitely showed we can cut it with the top four teams, as we were in every game for almost four quarters.

"Being at the helm for my first time in the red and white was exciting and I'm looking forward to seeing what season 2021 brings."

As he alludes to, Balsar took plenty of positives out of this season, including the play of Harry Morris (who was named team MVP), Sam Gilkes (most improved) and Aaron Puljic (sixth man of the season).

"Among a whole lot of negative things that happened this season, there were a lot of positive ones as well," Balsar, who's team also recognised Will Farrar (coach's award and graduating player) and Pat Lancaster (graduating player) at the team's recent presentation, said.

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"We took the top four teams to the wire, which was a huge positive - the fact the boys adapted quickly to the changes put in place and really started to play together in the second half of the season, shows positive prospects for our future."

As much as his players developed on the court, Balsar admits this was one of his biggest seasons of learning during his 28-year career on the sidelines.

"This season has been as hard as I've dealt with and the biggest thing I learnt about this group of young men was that you can't take things for granted," he said.

"Over many years, this particular group were dominant in their juniors but it has been a big step up into a very tough league, where most of their opponents have already played three of four seasons in the Waratah League.

"On top of that, it was a tough task to change things with this group, especially getting them to adapt to my style of play and coaching.

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"If we had another 10 games, I'm sure things would be different but we don't and for now it's about the build for 2021."

Despite all the adversity they've faced, Balsar put his hand up to coach the youth men's side again and was recently re-appointed into the position.

"This [coaching] is my passion and love outside my family but given how 2020 panned out, I thought everyone involved was hard done by and our finish to this season wasn't great," the 45-year-old said.

"It's a case of unfinished business, which is a card I can now draw on.

"I've seen growth and great improvement of this group this season, so it's probably more about building on that growth and continuing the journey into 2021.

"My first change [heading into next season] will be to have a more thorough pre-season and preparation, as this past year felt a little rushed.

"With trials for the squad starting next month, I want to lock in a pre-season schedule as soon as possible, so we are ready to hit the ground running come March, when the season tips off.

"Once we finalise the team, we will take part in a number of training camps, which will consist of team building, culture and goal setting and of course, the on-court component."

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A luxury for Balsar heading into the 2021 season will be that fact the majority of his under 23s squad, bar Farrar and Lancaster, will be returning next year.

"As far as I know, most of the squad from this season will return to trial," he said.

"Hopefully more talented players attends the trials so we can put the best team on the court to compete in 2021."

After winning the youth league men's two title with Shoalhaven in 2018, Balsar has set lofty goals for next year.

"My personal goals for next season will be to make this next group better in all aspects of basketball, both on and off the court," he said.

"As for the team goals, we will set these in our pre-season camp but the obviously goals are to make the top four and playoffs.

"From there, we ultimately want to win a banner to hang in the Snakepit in Wollongong, which is something that hasn't been achieved to date."