NATCHEZ — Natchez High and Robert Lewis Middle School students and faculty are in for a big change courtesy of the athletics department.

Natchez-Adams School District Athletic Director Fred Butcher has the ball rolling to introduce new conditioning and training programs for student athletes.

He also plans to make additions to the coaching staff while reassigning and getting extra training for some of the current coaches.

“I feel like we have been missing the boat by not having weight lifting and conditioning for our middle school students,” Butcher said. “Now middle school athletes will be coming to the weight room twice a week just like the high school athletes.”

In addition to better training for the middle school students who are already athletes, plans are in line to arrange for junior high tennis, baseball and soccer teams to increase students’ interests in athletics.

“We realized youth sports programs define what happens at the high school level,” Natchez High School football coach Lance Reed said.

In July, Reed is hosting a free football camp for middle school students to help them train and condition.

“Having more and better programs at the middle school level will help us develop better high school teams,” Butcher said.

“Baseball is the next program that we are trying to introduce at the junior high level.”

While middle school athletes are getting lots of attention, Butcher is tackling a different method for improving the athletics programs at the high school level by focusing on the staff.

“We would like to hire additional coaches,” Butcher said.

“Three more football coaches, two basketball coaches and one more track coach.”

The process of hiring new coaches, who meet district goals, is proving to be exceedingly difficult.

“We have interviewed about 11 people with no luck so far,” Butcher said.

Superintendent Anthony Morris also expressed concerns about hiring new coaches.

“It is feasible and realistic,” Morris said.

“But because our coaches also must fit a teaching position it is important to make sure an individual fits the teaching position as well.”

The Natchez Bulldogs must deal with some problems that can’t be fixed by new coaches and programs.

The Bulldogs compete in 5A and are the only public school in Adams County. But they still have trouble harnessing all the gifted athletes that come out of the middle school.

“Local private schools offer some athletes scholarships that take away some of Natchez High School’s potential athletes,” Butcher said.

Morris said he has no doubt that private schools recruiting of potential Bulldog athletes has impacted the caliber of public schools’ athletics.

While there may not be any solution to other schools recruiting gifted young athletes Butcher said with the right modification to the coaching staff and better feeder programs at the middle school there is no doubt the athletic program will be back on top of their game soon.