Building community through sport

In 2018, he and his friend Herman Lotey started the Australian International Sports Organisation (AUSISO), built on the idea that community sport is about more than competing and learning a skill. 

“We saw a gap in the sport industry around social connection, and creating a difference with sport as that social vehicle,” he says.

The pair now employ four full-time staff and 125 casuals across NSW, Queensland, Victoria and the ACT, delivering sports programs every day of the week.

Building his skills

Nick was in his second year of a Bachelor of Exercise and Sports Science at ACU Strathfield when he landed his first official role in the sports industry – an internship with Cricket NSW, offered through the university. 

“I was cricket mad, so I jumped at the opportunity,” he says.

Nick worked in the community cricket game development team, tasked with promoting the sport and creating positive experiences for students in schools and communities. 

“I really enjoyed that and met a lot of different people within the industry.” 

A second internship followed, this one off his own bat, in marketing with the Sydney Thunder. Then came six months as a casual in game development, where he ran entry-level cricket programs, before a full-time position opened in 2014.

Nick started as a Development Manager for Sydney North West at Cricket NSW with one uni semester to go, finishing his degree while working full-time. 

During his four-year stint, he worked with local cricket associations, clubs, local government and schools, growing participation. He also served as head coach of the Thunder Nation Cup All Stars and was seconded as Assistant Team Manager for the Sydney Thunder in the 2016–17 Big Bash League season.

Then, aged just 24, Nick decided to take a punt on his own business.  

Growing community

AUSISO grew from Nick and co-founder Herman Lotey’s vision to create social change through sports.

“We were two young gentlemen, who both grew up in Western Sydney, both passionate about sport, really trying to make a small business successful with what we were passionate about,” says Nick. 

“It was just the two of us, so it was a lot of hard work in the early years, but we’ve continued to grow it based on that vision.”

A multisport organisation, AUSISO focuses on three areas: funding support, strategic support and program delivery.

“We help local clubs and associations access grants and funding for things like uniforms, equipment and ground hire for events,” says Nick.

“We’ve delivered some wonderful projects, and depending on the grant, we might deliver a coaching session with our specialised coaches that meets that grant criteria.”

On the strategic front, the organisation has run multicultural and community engagement programs for Hockey NSW, Netball NSW, and NSW Rugby League, as well as programs for intensive English schools and multicultural media – all designed to bring sport and its benefits to new communities.

Program delivery also encourages grassroots participation.

“We do lots of school programs, and we’ve partnered with Usman Khawaja and the Usman Khawaja Foundation since 2018,” says Nick.

“The foundation is about providing a free cricket program to immigrant, refugee, Indigenous, rural, remote and low socioeconomic communities, which aligns nicely with our business, and we’ve been the exclusive delivery partner for eight years.

“And we’ve also done some work with Study NSW and international students, again around building that social connection through sport.”

Giving back

Giving back seems to be coded into Nick’s DNA. One way he does so is through participating in ACU events and hosting students on placements.

“We were based out of the ACU Co-Lab co-working space in Strathfield for a number of years,” says Nick. “We moved out recently to our own office, but to be there while the business was growing was incredibly supportive.

“So I’m more than happy to support current students and future students, because I was where they are now – and now I’m running a business and hosting students. We’re happy to give back for the support ACU’s provided us over the years.

“And I think also, if someone is inspired by or learns something beneficial from someone like me, who grew up in Western Sydney and started a business from nothing, and if they can work hard and be focused and follow their dreams – that’s amazing.” 

Looking to the future

There’s much to be proud of, and grateful for, in Nicholas Toscan’s life. 

At the professional level, there are plans to expand further in Queensland and Victoria, and to hire another full-time staff member on the funding and strategic support side of AUSISO. But Nick’s proud of what his small business has achieved to date.

Winning the ACU Alumni Champion Award has been amazing, he says, as was the recognition of his co-founder, Herman Lotey, who won the 2023 NSW Premier’s Multicultural Community Sports Medal. 

Nick’s best accomplishments to date though? His marriage to his wife, and their almost-two-year-old son.

“I’m absolutely most proud of my family,” he says. “My son’s such a happy little soul and it’s amazing to parent him with my wife. We’re trying to give him the best life possible but also trying to raise him to be respectful and polite and to have a smile on his face.

“And while I’ve retired from playing team sport, I’ve been doing parkrun, which is a 5km run on a Saturday morning. I’ve done 157, and I push the pram every week these days. That’s something I’m proud of – keeping fit and healthy and being a positive role model to my son.”

Nicholas is the winner of the ACU Alumni Champion Award in the 2026 ACU Alumni Awards.