If life is good when people don’t know about you, then it’s better when they do know &045; and still can’t do much about it.

With the end of the summer baseball league that began shortly after the 2003 regular season, don’t paint the Adams Christian Rebels as being a secret anymore. They pulled their share of upsets in the MPSA and were impressive during the four-week summer season to further prove what’s happening.

It’s a crop of talent that’s quickly coming of age.

Long been the talk of the town with a group of freshmen coming up, the Rebels will be plenty more experienced by the time the 2004 season rolls around. And you can sure bet coaches in District 2-AAA will know about them &045; heck, they did back in the spring.

And everybody else will, too.

&uot;I told the kids the first thing after the regular season is what we’re doing in the beginning of the 2004 season,&uot; AC head coach Gill Morris said. &uot;That’s why I made up my mind I was going to hit all 14 (players) this summer, and that’s what we did every game. We had some kids step up when they had a chance. It takes a long time, but it paid of in the long run.&uot;

It’s given much more hope to the upcoming season that’s already got slugger Glenn Williams, who should play at the next level, and do-everything sophomore-to-be Timmy Foster.

Both can do it all &045; pitching, fielding and hitting &045; and will anchor a pitching staff in a district that’s losing all its ace starters from the spring.

They’ll sandwich around a big tall right-hander that folks will find out plenty of next spring in Douglas Davis.

The wild card of the staff, he’s an unassuming pitcher who doesn’t make much noise at the plate. But when he rung up 87 on the gun at tryouts for the Mississippi State Games, people took notice.

&uot;He’s working his butt off in the weight room,&uot; Morris said. &uot;We’ll work with him throwing a hard curve and a slow curve. If I had a picture of a pitcher, Douglas would fit the mold. He’s tall, has those long arms and strong upper body. Douglas has the potential to be a power pitcher.&uot;

This weekend’s state games may do a number for the right-hander. Morris said it’s his unassuming nature that sometimes creates trouble for himself on the mound, and making the District 6 squad for the State Games will be tremendous for confidence in his ability and realizing he can pitch at the next level.

Now it’s all up to the veteran coach to continue to mold the core of talent into a winner for next year. He admitted he took a different approach this past spring than the past two at AC, including a disappointing 2002 season where the Rebels struggled to score runs for a solid staff anchored by Christopher Rayborn.

Now he’s in charge of a project that can reach unprecedented heights in the coming years. Because here’s the kicker &045; the talent is plenty deep.

&uot;We played one JV game this year, but next year I’m going to keep some young kids,&uot; he said. &uot;I’m going to bring some eighth- and ninth-graders up and have a full-fledged JV team. I hope to have about 25 kids.&uot;

Just more players who people will become plenty familiar with.

Adam Daigle

is sports editor of The Natchez Democrat. You can reach him at (601) 445-3632 or by e-mail at

adam.daigle@natchezdemocrat.com.