NATCHEZ — For current Natchez High head football coach Lance Reed, being able to coach the Bulldogs has been a dream come true.

Following the 2003 season, the NHS job opened up and Reed, who was at Sam Houston High School in Texas, decided to apply for the job.

As a player at Natchez High under head coach Chris Calcote, Reed was named a member of the All-Metro Team as a senior linebacker. He said he sees a lot of himself in his current players.

“I know it’s a different day and age, but some of the challenges they have in the community were things that were going on when I was around,” Reed said.

He also feels like his past experiences in Natchez help him relate to today’s players.

The fact that Reed also has players on his team whose parents were Reed’s friends in school also helps.

“Every day I meet a kid with some kind of connection there,” Reed said. “It kind of comes close to home. A couple of guys I’ve played with, their sons are on the team now.

“They have the same pride I have in the program and want to see the team succeed.”

When Reed took over the program in 2004 the Bulldogs were having troubles getting wins, coming off of a 1-10 season.

“I had high expectations for the program and still do,” Reed said.

In part because the team had been having problems, Reed said returning to his former school and city did not add any pressure to produce an immediate winner.

“At the time, the program was really down,” Reed said. “So I think the big thing was to see improvement.

“We would have wished to see more improvement, but we’re doing the things we’re supposed to do.”

Although Reed had a 1-10 record his first season, he has slowly been able to make the Bulldogs more competitive, with 5-5, 6-5 and 5-6 records over the next three seasons.

In each of those seasons NHS has just missed its first playoff birth since 1997.

“It’s been disappointing where we know we’ve been close to breaking into the playoffs,” he said.

“We’re please with the improvement, but we’re not satisfied.”