Mississippi's Best Community Newspaper

Can you say ‘crootin’ time at AC?  Ya darn tootin.       haha

Don’t be fooled recruiting has been present at AC for 40 yrs, The days when they were winning it was very present don’t be fooled.

Welcome Back David !!! Home where you should have been for over 10 yrs now!!!

It is absolutely disgraceful and , to me. un-ethical to recruit high-school KIDS to play sports at a school. My God! It is called SCHOOL because you go there to LEARN! This obsession over a winning sports program is revolting. And it is made more so when you place the importance of a winning team over the importance of a good education. Where are our priorities!!???
Go to a big(ger) city and put on your resume’ that you were a winning tail-back on your high schoolteam, and see what that will get you. HA! Just like putting you were king of the Historic Natchez Pagaent——- but dat’s another story!  Just sad.

My children and I are very sad that David is leaving. We are blessed that my  oldest son played sports under David for many years. He was always more than a coach my my son. He was there for him through thick and thin. David was by far a father figure to him in many ways. We are sad to see him leave Trinity. I can promise you when it comes time for my youngest son to play under David, we will no longer be at Trinity.

I have a bad feeling in my heart for both of these schools concerning this matter. Foreshadowing…

Athletics pay the bills Burnley and that’s a Fact!!!!

In that case, sally, we need to turn over all the pro sporting proceeds to pay off da national debt!  Sports. What a waste of time and matter.

Moving on up – toward Jefferson County which has untapped recuriting candidates, look at last season outcome.

My daughter attends Trinity….let’s start with academics….every teacher at Trinity is a certified teacher and highly qualified….I was an educator and this is great for a private school…My daughter is in high school and she is receiving college prep for sure….What I do not like is the fact that I am a single mom struggling to pay $800 a month and there are atheletes that get to attend Trinity for free due to their sport talents…I can say that Trinity has had some atheletes recruited by some big time colleges and have been successful…that is rare to have such big schools come in to such a small school to recruit for college….but let’s get real….David King is so competitive and I do not see the ACCS atheletic department being as successful as Trinity unless he is allowed to recruit!!! We truly admired David King at Trinity and it is heart breaking. Money talks!!! I figured he would stay at least 2 more years to see his daughter finish out. We are fortunate to get Porter as head coach….he has college experience and he is a great guy. But all I can say is….Going from a SAINT to a REBEL…..do the math!!!

Amen sisiter!!! However,  I am hoping with almost our entire coaching staff going to ACCS and Cynthia Smith also being there, things will be better at ACCS in a few years. My youngest son will make the transfer to play under David if that happens.

The school situation is too important to argue about sports!  We should have teams for all the sports, but not through recruiting. The most important thing is the academic situation.  Children need to be taught to live in the real world, beginning in pre school!  I understand Trinity is teaching PreK Spanish.  Maybe they should add Chinese!  Very few Prep school athletes will go on to play college football or basketball, but  all of them will need careers in the real world of today!  To pull a child out of school because he likes a football coach is absurd.  Truth be told, Natchez is too small to support three private schools.  Perhaps they should talk about a merger.  Of course Cathedral is Catholic, but both ACCS and Trinity are supported by protestant churches.  Why can’t they get together?  Just a thought

I was “recruited” while still in high school by Trinity. They promised me a full scholarship, etc, etc, etc…but the level of competition was near non-existent. I stayed at South Natchez and received my diploma from a public school then went on to college to receive my degree. I didn’t want nor “need” Trinity to achieve. In my opinion, it is not about the school…it is about the school environment. Today, the public schools are horrific. In a past issue, the Natchez Democrat even named a Natchez High player “Athlete of the Week” for breaking a 30 plus game losing streak in football…that’s pitiful. Even more pitiful is the “culture” that the public schools are nothing more than a daycare with free breakfast and lunch. The emphasis on education is lost.

Trinity, ACCS and even Cathedral can and will “recruit” as they are private schools. But winning at all costs does not prepare students for the challenges of life. Only a very select “few” private school athletes will go on to four year university program and beyond.

Its a tough call…parents want the best for their children…and Natchez Public Schools certainly do not fit that description.

What’s the salary of the commander in chief and then Lookup the salary of Kobe Bryant.
Private University’s would not survive without donations aka private scholarships for kids and Public University’s can’t compete with others without powerful athletic programs. Fact

 Research has shown that sports contribute to psychological well-being by reducing anxiety and depression and enhancing self-esteem. In sports kids find a social milieu that can promote a spirit of social interaction, cooperation and friendship. Sports help kids think critically and solve problems, build self-discipline, trust, respect for others, leadership ad coping skills, all of which form the foundation of character building. Sports have also been shown to improve academic and occupational outcomes, lower school dropout and deter delinquency. And, of course, sports develop the mind/body connection by strengthening the body and training the mind to use it for action and reaction.

Sports can be a great life lesson in working hard to achieve; both individual and team sports. I owe a debt of gratitude to participation in sports for helping me achieve and the will to conquer seemingly daunting tasks.

When children choose on their own to participate in a sport their motivation to succeed is strengthened. Also important is how the child views competitiveness; is winning everything or just a detail of the game? Support and positive reinforcement from family, peer group, teachers and coaches can help a child to develop a positive sense of self in sport participation. Warm, positive, effective coaching and parenting contribute in a big way to kids’ motivation and success. Making sports fun with measurable outcomes, like skill development, builds toward success. The benefits of sports outweigh the negatives, so it’s the responsibility of parents, schools and others involved in the lives of kids to help make sports a successful and pleasurable experience

sally, couldn’t care LESS about the salaries of either one. I do know that the pay for pro athletes is obscene! If you want to be a part of paying it, fine. But remember- these “star athletes” are ONLY as important as people like YOU make them out to be. On their own, they are lucky to tie their own shoes and speak coherently. I refuse to idolize or glamorize any man or woman.

Cathedral School has been in operation since 1847. It is operated by the Catholic Diocese but the faculty is not all Catholic and the student body is not even majority Catholic. Cathedral’s students have had the highest ACT scores of any school in the area, as reported by this newspaper for as long as I can recall. Further, Cathedral plays sports against PUBLIC schools and is in the PUBLIC school league, subject to the same rules as all the other public schools regarding attendance and participation in sports. Cathedral was only allowed by the Catholic Church to schedule private schools for out-of-league play after the private schools opened their admission policy to include all children. Whatever the situation is with ACCS and Trinity, Cathedral is not a part of it and has nothing to do with it. 

What year did you graduate?

Er…uh….that’d be 1978

First let me say how much I admire Rev. Dick for saying that the football coach and headmaster would NEVER be one in the same at Trinity. I really think ACCS has just messed themselves up bigtime. I’m very disappointed in the board at ACCS. I really don’t care what Sallydatgirl says, sports (or any extra curricular activies) should always come second to ACADEMICS. I fully understand UMMFG2′s frustration. These schools should be giving scholarships to those with excellent grades. And Ruger, in addition, a lot of those kids come off the field on a gurney never to walk again.

My thoughts, too. The Headmaster ALSO being the football coach!!??  Such arrogance and power. Makes me think of the coach (played by John Goodman) in the movie “Revenge of the Nerds”. Too much power can corrupt.

How does Natchez support all of these private schools?  Does anyone go to public school anymore? 

You are badly mistaken if you think that Cathedral has to play by the same rules as the public schools. 

I think that Trinity received an upgrade at head coach with Coach Porter… In other words Trinitywill come out a winner in this in the long run