Jun. 5—EDITOR’S NOTE — New Kilgore High School head football coach Clint Fuller was kind enough to spend some time with News Herald sports editor Mitch Lucas this week, for a question-and-answer session to help get to know the first-year coach.
The public has a chance to meet Fuller on Tuesday night at the Lions Club building downtown, a meet-and-greet that will begin at 6 p.m.
A bit of context: Fuller spent his childhood here as the son of coach Phil Fuller, who was defensive coordinator on the Kilgore College staff through much of the 1980s and early ’90s. He comes from great stock, meaning not just his dad, but good mentors: his most recent stop was at Pleasant Grove, where as defensive coordinator he teamed with coach Josh Gibson to win state championships.
Fuller was named head coach at KHS in May, and in preparation to move here, has been making the drive from Texarkana in the weeks since. Fuller is in the early stages of Kilgore’s strength and conditioning offseason program. He and his wife Emily have two children: daughter Dylan and son Phil.
ML: Are y’all getting settled in?
CF: I’ve been driving back and forth from Texarkana every day since that Tuesday after the board meeting. Housing market is pretty rough, but I think we might have something, and maybe we’ll be able to get moved in by mid July. We thought about buying something smaller, what we can find now, and then buy something else later, but ideally, that’s still another move you’ve got to make.
ML: It’s early; does your family seem to like Kilgore? Do you still have family here?
CF: I do. We have family in the Longview area. My aunt lives in Union Grove, and my cousin lives in the Pine Tree area, in my grandparents’ old home. I have an uncle that lives in Shreveport. I brought Phil, my son, here last week. Had a seven-on-seven practice. I told him he was the ball boy. I think they’ll be fine. My daughter is in cheer in Texarkana. We’ll get her plugged in and that’ll make her feel good about it. Phil just wants to be involved in football in some way, like we all did.
ML: What do you remember about living here? How old were you when y’all had to move?
CF: Oh, it’s been a while. We moved away in 1993. That’s been a long time ago. I remember not wanting to leave. I was always back and forth, even after we left. And we still have friends — Bill and Janie Terrell, and some others — and family in Longview, always back for vacations. We’ve always been somewhat connected. You know, if you’ve ever lived in Kilgore, you’ve always got a part of that with you. It stays with you. Glad to be back.
ML: Tell me about your dad; his coaching philosophy and how it’s impacted you, and your career.
CF: My first memories of football and of my dad’s involvement in it were here in Kilgore. We moved here right after I was born. The first field house I grew up in was the old basketball gym at KC. It definitely made an impact on me.
At junior college, players are trying to get to where they ultimately want to go. The way he impacted those kids in a positive way, and the way they responded to him, made an impact on me. I knew there was something there. Of course, he was a great coach from a schematic standpoint, but building relationships of love and respect, was where he put emphasis: on being a great husband and father, getting a great education, and getting a good job to support your family. As my father, I saw him live out those things. It made an impact on me from a young age. But I love football. Just love it. Once I was old enough to figure out I probably wouldn’t be an NFL player, I figured coaching would be the closest thing, my best way to keep football in my life. I never even considered doing anything else.
ML: Tell me about your own coaching philosophy. Are you more of a balanced offensive attack, or heavy one way or another, and what defensive alignment do you prefer, is there one?
CF: My biggest thing, what I want us to do, is put our players in position to be successful, to lift up and maximize their strengths and minimize whatever weaknesses they may have. I believe that’s a universal concept. I’m not so much married to a particular offensive or defensive structure, but to find a way to put them in a position to be successful and allow flexibility.
Every year, we’ve got a new group of kids, and that obviously changes from year to year. You have to play to those strengths. It comes in cycles: one year, you might have a really great offensive line, and a great defensive line, but your skill positions aren’t as strong. The next, your lines may not be as strong, but your skill kids are fantastic. Every year is different, and you and your team have to adapt to strengths every year.
ML: What’s been your favorite stop so far on your coaching career?
CF: Every stop for me has been tremendously important. I’ve grown so much, but I’ve been blessed, been fortunate to be around really great coaches and leaders. Brian Polk (an assistant athletic director at the University Interscholastic League) — I had the opportunity to move up on his staff. He had a big impact on me as a coach. At Pleasant Grove, of course, working with my lifelong friend, Josh Gibson. Josh is an outstanding coach. He knows how to build a structure like nobody in the state. But to answer the question, every stop has been important, and I feel like I’ve learned something at every single one.
ML: What’s it been like coaching with Josh? What’s that friendship like?
CF: Energy is such a big point of emphasis with Josh. He loves his coaches and loves his kids. You can see that every day around him, when they just catch a glimpse of him you can see the emotion. We’re cut from the same cloth. A lot of the values he has, I share. We have different personalities, of course, but both of us have an intense passion for football. Energy will be a big focus here. Obviously, we already have a great foundation, and we will focus on the energy within the program. When you get the kids to invest emotionally, that’s when you can make your program successful.
ML: I’m sure you’ve had time now to come look and assess a few things; what’s your assessment so far?
CF: Well, I’ve been here since May 2, and I’ve been here about every day since then. It’s been tremendous, starting with the leadership at KISD: Dr. (Andy) Baker, (coach Mike) Wood, and (principal) Mrs. (April) Cox. They have all helped me in the transition, showed me the ropes, made the transition as seamless as possible.
Of course, I’ve met with our coaches, who are great men of character. I can tell speaking with them they want to impact the athletes and help them as they move forth in life. The kids have been tremendous. They’re great kids. They know how to work. They want to do something special. Last year was another special year here, and there’s been a lot of those in Kilgore. We’ve talked about that. They want to continue that, and I think they believe in the vision we have in what this program is going to continue to go toward, and to achieve. We’re going to build on the great foundation that’s already here.
ML: If you had one thing you wanted Kilgore to know about you, what would it be?
CF: I told the kids on the last day of school, when I had been here three weeks, that you never know how transitions are going to go. There are always anxieties and unknowns, things that come with change. I don’t feel like it could have gone any better, the way the kids have accepted me in the program as the leader and the way the coaches have jumped on board. It has been an awesome transition, and I couldn’t have expected it to go any better.
Through this first week of summer conditioning, we’ve been trying to get a bit better every day. It’s all about growing. You have successes and then start stacking them on top of each other and before you know it you look back and you’ve started something special.
We’re going to try and develop and grow as football players and servant leaders of our community. We will try to represent the Kilgore community, and the city of Kilgore in the best possible way, not just on the field, but off. And we hope to have a team of young men, and coaches, that we can all be proud.