Youth football coach and his youngest son die in ‘terrible’ Texas crash, family says

Youth football coach Deshaune Fuller was a dad to three, but his wife says he was a “father figure” to the many children he inspired.

Fuller — a “long time community youth sports coach” — and his youngest son, Draedyn “Pop Pop” Fuller, died in a car crash Monday night in Texas, The Colorado County Citizen said in a Facebook post.

Lajoya Coats, Fuller’s wife and mother to two other kids, said her husband hit a deer before ramming into oncoming traffic and flipping, KTRK reported. They were on their way home from taking team pictures.

Fuller and Coats were “childhood sweethearts” who leaned on each other and got married in 2018, according to a family GoFundMe on the “terrible” accident.

Fuller was the kind of person who enjoyed giving back to their community, KTRK reported. His passion was supporting kids since he didn’t have a role model while growing up.

“He didn’t just coach my kids, but other kids,” Coats said, according to KRTK. “He was a father figure to some kids who didn’t have that in their lives. He wanted the best for those kids.”

The legacy he instilled in his players will live on, as seen on the shirts that the Rice Youth Sports League is selling in support of his family.

“We don’t play for the score, we play for the game.” - Coach Deshaune

That quote came from a postgame huddle with his youth baseball team, and a recording of his coaching style was posted to Facebook by the Rice Youth Sports League.

“Throughout that game, no matter what that score is, I don’t want nobody to put your head down anymore,” he said. “We don’t play for the score, we play for the game. So I don’t want nobody worried about that score until the game is over.”

“This is part of his legacy that will carry on through RYSL,” the league wrote on Facebook.

The Fuller family was also known and loved within the Columbus Youth Football Federation.

“DeShaune coached for us in our first 2 CYFF seasons and taught so many over the years how to play the game,” the program shared on Facebook. “ ... DeShaune would come to practice with a car full of kids and he made it a priority to make sure they all had a ride and didn’t miss practice.

“DeShaune was a proud Rice Raider and this season he and his son were part of RYSL’s inaugural football season. He never cared about whether you were Rice or Columbus, he truly loved football and coaching all of our kids. Please keep them all in your prayers. This is a tough one for all of us and they will both be missed dearly.”

This story was originally published September 30, 2021 at 9:54 AM with the headline "Youth football coach and his youngest son die in ‘terrible’ Texas crash, family says."