NATCHEZ &045; Bruce Pickle has resigned immediately as head girls’ basketball coach at Adams Christian, school headmaster John Gray said.

Pickle offered his letter of resignation Friday but stayed on to coach games that night and Saturday before taking a position with the Vidalia school system. Pickle left the position with three weeks remaining in the season, and school officials have appointed head football coach Keith Walters to resume his duties for the remainder of the season.

Pickle, who coached at ACCS for eight years and graduated from there in 1979, said the move was a benefit for him and his family.

&uot;I’m going to miss them,&uot; Pickle said. &uot;It was tough (Monday) night not seeing those junior high girls play. I know it wasn’t very good timing at all, and I understand that. You just trust the Lord has a plan for you. That’s how I’m feeling. An opening came available, and I had to move.&uot;

Pickle coached during Friday’s loss at Jackson Prep and Saturday’s win at home against Amite School Center in the school’s Sweetheart Court Night. He broke the news of his resignation plans after Saturday’s game in the locker room.

The Lady Rebels were 14-10 overall and 1-7 in MPSA 2-AAA going into Tuesday’s game at Huntington.

&uot;Big-time (shocker),&uot; senior post April Boyd said. &uot;He came in and talked about the game and then called the junior high girls in. He told us he had to talk to us, and he looked kind of nervous. We thought he was sick or something. He said it had nothing to do with AC or basketball.

&uot;He was pretty upset about it. He looked like he was about to cry.&uot;

After Tuesday’s game the Lady Rebels have two regular season games remaining &045; Friday and Brookhaven Academy and Feb. 3 at home against Central Private in their final district game and Senior Night.

Pickle said he could not offer many details about his position at Vidalia, and school officials will likely make his appointment official during a Concordia Parish School Board meeting Feb. 10.

&uot;We’re happy for him if that’s the direction he believes he needs to go at this point in his life,&uot; Gray said. &uot;We’ll make the best of it. It’s not good for our kids &045; the timing of it. But we’ve got to look at it from his end. It’s something he’s looked at for several years. We wish it could have happened at a better time. But we’ll make it work and make sure our young people are not cheated out of anything.&uot;

Boyd said it was a difficult decision to accept for the team, especially she and the other four seniors who played under Pickle in junior high starting in the seventh grade. Boyd said she transferred to AC as a seventh-grader and played a couple years under Pickle in slow-pitch softball.

Other seniors include Nikki Hankins, Krystal Truitt, Kim Robertson and Anna McLemore.

&uot;We weren’t happy about it,&uot; Boyd said. &uot;We wished he could have waited until after basketball season. We were pretty close with Coach Pickle. We could all talk to him about anything.&uot;

&uot;I tried to tell them I love them to death and wish them the best,&uot; Pickle said. &uot;I hope they do well. We worked hard while we were at AC. I think we’ve improved the program since then. Hopefully someone will come in and carry it on even further.&uot;

Walters resumed his basketball coaching career victoriously Tuesday at Huntington, as the Lady Rebels won 45-34. Walters spent time coaching basketball at WCCA, a school where he coached the boys’ team to a state championship.

Walters was initially named to serve as head boys’ basketball coach after Jan. 1, but Gray opted to remain with the team to allow Walters to prepare for spring football workouts.

Gray said he will help someone to coach the junior high girls’ team.

&uot;It’s going to be weird with Coach Walters, but from what we hear he used to be a real good basketball coach,&uot; Boyd said. &uot;We met with him, and he said he wasn’t going to change up our stuff. He told us he wasn’t going to holler at us or anything and would let us go out there and do our thing. We’ve been playing a lot better.&uot;

Pickle’s resignation is the second one Adams Christian has received in regards to basketball. Head boys’ coach Ricky Gray resigned after a one-year stint in mid-August to take a position at Enterprise, forcing John Gray to coach the team.

&uot;One thing I’ve been blessed with is quick decisions this year,&uot; Gray said. &uot;I’m just proud we were able to make it work.&uot;