The New England Girls School director of sport is suiting up for his first season with the Tamworth Thunderbolts men's side after finally heeding to captain, and former team-mate, David Bourke's appeals.

The two played together when they were 14 in Dubbo, and then later with the Newcastle Hunters.

"He's a big part of me playing for the Thunderbolts, he was quite persistent," Cohen said.

After learning that the shooting guard had moved to Armidale a few years ago, Cohen said Bourke would check in every year to see whether he was interested.

With a new job and a young family, he was initially reluctant.

But this year Bourke got a different response.

"My daughter is at a point now where I can commit to training and games," Cohen said.

"And my job at NEGS I've been doing for three years now. I can manage it a lot better now than when I first moved here."

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The 32-year old brings a wealth of experience, and credentials.

Before he moved to Armidale in 2016 he was playing with the Hunters in the State League Championship division. He was also a development player for two years with the Hunter Pirates during their short-lived stint in the National Basketball League, which he said was a great learning experience.

"Some of the guys in that group had American NBA experience and also representing Australia," Cohen said.

Cohen can also call Patty Mills a former team-mate. The two played together for the Australian Schoolboys, Cohen remarking that even at that age he was very switched on..

He acknowledged he has also been "very fortunate" with the calibre of coaches he has played under over the years, and is keen to impart the lessons he has learnt onto the young players in the Thunderbolts set-up.

"It's really cool to be able to share my experience with some of the young players," he said.

"A lot of the young guys in the Thunderbolts program have a lot of potential."

The Thunderbolts host the Hawkesbury Jets in Tamworth on Saturday night and will be looking to build on an 87-52 win over the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles in their opening game.

"We definitely weren't at our best but anytime you come away with such a large victory is always a good outcome for your first game," Cohen said.

"There are a lot of improvements for us to make."

He applied the same to his own game, assessing his performance as "a bit rusty".

"(But) It's exciting and it was a lot of fun to play again," he said.

A lot of that enjoyment stems from the culture among the group, Cohen highlighting that as the thing that has most impressed him. 

Throughout all the pre-season training, and again in the first game, he said everyone supported each other and played with the same intensity whether they were on court for one minute or 40 minutes.