He was meant to coach on the diamond

Some people are never sure of what they want to do with their lives. But for others, it's ingrained into them, almost predetermined, even if they don't know it. And that is exactly how it is when it comes to Dick Fuzesy and coaching - you could almost say it's what he was born to do.

"It was just kind of ingrained into me," Fuzesy said. "My dad was a coach, my grandpa was a coach, my uncle was a coach, so it was just part of our culture. As a I got older, I wanted to find a way to stay around the game and I enjoy being around kids and competing and it's just another venue to do that."

And now Fuzesy will get to put his coaching acumen to the test like never before as the new head coach of the Havre North Stars American Legion baseball team. Fuzesy, who has been an assistant with the team for the past few seasons, will succeed Danny Wirtzberger, who was the head man for five seasons before leaving to become the athletic director for Laurel High School.

"I am really looking forward to being head coach of the North Stars," Fuzesy said. "Baseball is kind of my first love. It's the first sport you play when you are young. Football is right up there, but baseball has always been it for me.

"But I want to say thanks to Dan (Wirtzberger) for bringing me on and having me be part of the program as an assistant," he added. "And I also want to thank Havre Youth Baseball for trusting me to be the head coach. It's something I am really excited about and something I can see myself doing for a long time."

Fuzesy has a long history with the game of baseball going back to when he was little. Of course, like most kids in his generation, he started out young with tee ball and went from there. He also played legion baseball in high school in Malta, where he was a pitcher, catcher and third baseman.

Yet, he excelled in more than just baseball, as he also played varsity basketball and football. He even earned All-Conference honors twice as a defensive end. He also stood out in track where he qualified for the state track meet in the javelin, shot put and discus.

"Growing up in Harlem, playing sports is just what you did," Fuzesy said. "There wasn't much else to do, so that's what you did to stay busy and keep yourself out of trouble."

After his successful high school sports career, Fuzesy pursued a bachelor's degree in elementary education at Montana State University-Northern and upon completion of his degree he began teaching at Sunny Side Elementary before going to the Havre Middle School to teach science.

But, as time went on, the itch for competition didn't go away. The desire to coach and be part of the game grew stronger for Fuzesy, who got involved with coaching as a volunteer, before getting jobs coaching basketball and later football coach for HMS.

"I really like the competitiveness, that's part of the reason why I like coaching," Fuzesy said. "But I also like working with the kids. I like helping the kids that have a lot of ability to be even better, but I also like teaching the fundamentals and working with the kids that have never played before. I get to be around kids and build that connection with them as a teacher, but it's even better when you are a coach. You are trying to win games together and working hard together and it's just fun to be part of a team and go through some of those battles with each other."

And while Fuzesy has been coaching for the past eight years at HMS, he is excited to take over a North Stars' program that has been rebuilding and is trying to restore its former glory. Fortunately, the North Stars had a good turnout this season with 16 players on the roster. And after a couple of down years, the team is looking to get back to the state tournament, where Havre used to be a mainstay but hasn't been in nearly a decade.

"I think we already have good numbers this year, so that was the first goal and that is accomplished," Fuzesy said. "So the next thing is that we want to get back to the state tournament. That, I think, is our next thing we want to try and do.

"But we want kids to play baseball and try to get our numbers up as much as possible, so

I try to be around little league as much as I can," he added. "Just to see what is happening and how things are going. I want the kids to get to know me. I just think baseball is a great sport. It's intense but not like in football. You get to be outside in the beautiful weather. You get to hang out in the clubhouse with your buddies. You have to work hard but it's fun, too. So I want to encourage kids to stick with it. There's nothing quite like playing baseball."

Fuzesy will make his debut as head coach of the North Stars May 10 at Legion Field in Havre as the boys of summer embark on the 2015 season, which runs through August and the state tournament.