STEPHEN HEERS With a background coaching all sports over a 24-year career, new Fairfield girls athletics coordinator and girls' backetball head coach Stephen Heers looks forward to improving all Lady Eagles athletic performances.

Heers, 47, was hired Thursday evening after an interview at a called meeting of the Fairfield Independent School District board of trustees.

"I see a lot of potential in the girls' side of the program," the coach says.

Heers comes to Fairfield from Priddy, a Class A Division II school, where he has held the jobs of boys' and girls' head backetball coach the past five years.

The Priddy girls have won the district basketball championship for five years under the coach and advanced to the region tournament this year.

During Heers' tenure at Priddy, the girls compiled a 69-1 record in district basketball.

Wearing two hats, the coach also directed the boys' basketball team at Priddy to five district championships.

The 47-year-old is a graduate of Breckenridge high school and earned a bachelor of science degree in physical education, with a minor in history, at Tarleton State University in 1985.

He points out that he went to Tarleton with plans to play basketball, but wound up on the golf team after playing in a scramble with the golf coach.

As a college golfer, he made all-conference in 1983 and the team won the conference in 1984 and qualified for national competition.

Heers knew Fairfield athletic director and head football coach Darrell Piske in college, and in the years since has worked high school basketball camps with Fairfield boys' head basketball coach Joey Worley and former coach Carroll Cain.

"He (Piske) excites me watching him coach," Heers says. "I'm looking forward to working with a lot of good coaches in Fairfield."

After graduating college, the new Lady Eagles coach worked four years at Tomball as a junior high coach, three years in the Hempstead boys' and girls' basketball program, coached boys' basketball at Class AAA Bellville four years, spent five years at Class A Huckabay where he won five district championships and coached girls' baskeball at Class AA Hico three years.

At Huckaby, the girls and boys each won five district championships.

Although he has coached at bigger schools, Heers says he dropped back down to Class A for family reasons.

"I worked across the hall from my wife and attended our boys' activities," he says.

Heers and wife Rockie are parents of three sons—- Andrew, 22, graduated this month at Tarleton, Matthew, 18, is graduating at Priddy and will attend Angelo State University, and Aaron, 14, is an eighth grade student.

Mrs. Heers is a computer science and business teacher at Priddy.

In addition to coaching basketball, Heers has been a head track coach for 13 years and head golf coach for eight years.

"I see a lot of potential in the girls' side of the pro gram and I'm excited to know there are a lot of talented athletes," he says of the Lady Eagles.

Lady Eagles cagers finished third in district this year, then went on to win a bi-district championship, bowing out of the playoffs at the area level.

Heers plans to hit the ground running, helping with a youth basketball camp in Fairfield in early June and conducting a high school basketball camp in July.

Even though the coach declares that basketball is his "passion," he looks forward to helping the entire girls' athletic program succeed and his background in coaching several sports gives him insight into what is needed for success.

"I want to make Fairfield a well-rounded program and I see the potential to improve," he says.

The Lady Eagles made the post season playoffs in volleyball, basketball and softball this year, won the district track title and qualified to advance in golf and cross country.

The task is to move teams deeper into the playoffs.

Heers planned to be in Fairfield early this week to meet with coaches and athletes, and will move here when the school term is over.