NATCHEZ &045; Cathedral is serious about sticking to its success rate on the soccer field despite the loss of head coach Rocky Kettering.

So much so that school officials broke the position into two and have hired a coach for each program &045; Rick Freeman for the boys and Christine Krupa for the girls.

Kettering, who resigned last month, coached both squads along with a junior varsity boys’ squad.

&uot;We had a big meeting a couple of weeks ago, and everything went great,&uot; Cathedral athletic director Roy Garcia said. &uot;We feel real good, and I’m excited about it. I don’t think we could have gotten two better people.&uot;

The two take over the growing programs after Kettering resigned to take a position in the Atlanta area. Freeman comes in to take over the boys’ program that has enjoyed increased success over recent seasons.

The Green Wave won its district title last season to clinch a spot in the playoffs for a fourth straight season.

&uot;I’m really excited about it because through the rec league I’ve coached most of these kids on that team,&uot;&160;said Freeman, who spent time coaching in the Adams County Soccer Association. &uot;It’s really a fine group of young men. You couldn’t ask to walk into a better situation. Rocky has really brought them along to this point, and I want to come in and get them to the next level.&uot;

The Green Wave for the first time last season emerged as one of the best clubs in the southwest corner of the state with wins over Brookhaven and McComb before falling in a tight match to St. Aloysius.

The Wave measured the progress of their season by their playoff outcome &045; in 2002 it exited the playoffs in a 10-0 drubbing at the hands of West Lauderdale, and this past season it lost to that same club 3-2.

The team lost five seniors off last year’s roster, including goalkeeper Brent Tosspon, but return seven juniors &045; including scorers Palmer Rinehart and Wyler Murray.

&uot;You have a lot of the juniors from last year coming back, and the guys are taking their own initiative of practicing on their own,&uot; Freeman said. &uot;They’re going to camps &045; the Eurotech camp in Covington (La.) and the UAB soccer camp. They’ve improved every year. They played an inspired game (against West Lauderdale).&uot;

Krupa, meanwhile, steps in as the first full-time girls’ coach in the program’s brief existence. A native of Baton Rouge, Krupa played club-level soccer while enrolled at LSU and was a senior on the 1994 Baton Rouge Magnet High Class 5A state championship team.

She spent time at the end of last season assisting Kettering on the sideline.

&uot;I’ve spent my whole life playing soccer and haven’t really been able to find any way to play up here,&uot; Krupa said. &uot;This is the closest link I have to getting back into it. I enjoyed (helping) last year, and I thought the girls were a lot of fun and saw a lot of talent. They were pretty aggressive. These are people I can work with.&uot;

The Lady Wave were in playoff contention last year up until the final game of the season when it dropped a tight contest to North Pike. The team also lost one of its top players in Joanna Stubbs, who signed on to play at Centenary College.

But goalkeeper Lori Scruggs highlights a core of talent returning, and Krupa expects a strong class of talent coming up from the eighth grade.

Both teams will have their first practice Oct. 13.

&uot;Christine had been out there before, and Rocky said she’d fit right in,&uot;&160;Garcia said. &uot;Rick has been affiliated with soccer a long time. He knows the game and relates well with the kids.

&uot;We owe everything to Rocky because he was our full-time soccer coach. I hate to see him go, but I know you’ve got to go with careers and ambitions.&uot;