Pat Murphy

The "kid'' in Jerry Fuller is the main reason he aligned himself with the Lewisville Baseball Association some 16 years ago.

Now, Fuller is on to a new challenge.

Last year, Fuller and his peers started the Classic Baseball Program within the Highland Village Association. Fuller is the coordinator of the CBP.

"It's a program where the stronger kids from our area play against more talented kids from other areas,'' Fuller said. "The kids really like it, and it's been a good thing.

"That's what I help run and take care of right now -- the classic end of baseball, which is more competitive baseball. I help get the different leagues together so they can meet and write the schedules.''

Fuller, 39, is a 1978 graduate of Lake Dallas High School. His biggest claim to fame so far has been when he coached the Diamondbacks of the Highland Village Association to a 35-3 record last spring. They eventually barnstormed across the state and qualified to play in two separate state tournaments.

The Diamondbacks captured the Texas Teenage Baseball championship last July in Palestine. They also played in the National Baseball Congress state tournament -- which was held in July -- in Highland Village.

"We played against teams from all over the state, and we played a lot of games,'' Fuller said. "Most of my kids (ages 13 and 14) have been together since September of 1997.''

Between the spring, summer and fall seasons, plus the tournament, Fuller's teams amassed a solid 75-5 record last year. Fuller was with his players every step of the way, barking out instructions and offering support whenever possible.

Of course, the bubbly Fuller wouldn't have it any other way.

"Watching the kids grow up and progress is fun,'' he said. "There are kids playing college baseball right now that I coached when they were five years old, and it's just neat to see them grow up and develop.

"Most of this stuff is for the kids anyway -- all the newspaper stuff. I get a big kick out of seeing the kids in there.''

Fuller said the folks at HVA -- this is its second year of operation -- have gone out of their way to make sure he has all of the necessary tools to fulfill his job.

"The people running the HVA league are a class bunch of people,'' Fuller said. "I'd like to thank them for everything they've done.

"No league starts up with 1,000 kids in its first year if they didn't do something right. That's a lot of kids. For a league to come on and do that the first year is almost unheard of.''

Folks like Jerry Fuller are unheard of, also. They fall under the heading of "people with class.''