TOWNSVILLE Heat coach Mark Wrobel has stepped down in order to step up.

One of the Queensland Basketball League's most decorated mentors will put away his clipboard in 2011 to oversee the entire program.

Wrobel replaces David Aubrey as QBL chairperson and his first job will be to find a replacement at the Heat. Applications for the position close tomorrow.

He may only have held the top job with the Heat for one season, taking them to the finals last year, but Wrobel has been at the forefront of the state league competition for the better part of a decade.

His greatest achievement was to take the Townsville Flames WQBL team to back-to-back national titles, as an assistant (2007), then as head coach.

He also took the Queensland under-21 women's team to a Australian crown.

While it's a dramatic change in direction after coaching in the league for nine years, having started by sharing assistant duties at both men's and women's sides in Mackay, Wrobel is excited to put his expertise to the ultimate test behind the scenes.

"Once the ball is in the air and the action starts on court, I'm sure I'll miss it," Wrobel said.

"But it'll be interesting to now see basketball from the other side."

Already the Townsville program is regarded as a powerhouse, but Wrobel sees even greater potential.

"It's in a fantastic position and is one of only three or four programs that has been in the ABA for all 26 years and the committee has done a fantastic job over the last decade," Wrobel said.

"But now we are looking for a fresh start and we've been welcomed to inject new ideas.

"We know that in the QBL we are a level below national teams here in Townsville like the Cowboys (NRL) and the Crocs (NBL), but we are out there to set a benchmark for state teams like the Steelcats (netball) and Razorback (soccer) to match."

Article: Andrew Aloia, Townsville Bulletin