NATCHEZ — Winning is a tradition in the Beesley family, and it started three generations ago with Ken Beesley.

Ken Beesley was Cathedral High School’s head baseball coach from 1972 to 2002, and won two state championships in 1982 and 1995.

In 1994, Ken had been coaching the team by himself for so long, he knew it was time to get an assistant coach, and he chose his own son for the position.

“I was looking for a coach to help, and I knew (Craig) was a good coach,” Ken said. “He not only was good at getting along with the kids and a good role model, but he knew the fundamentals because he played college ball at Delta State, so it was almost like it was meant to be.”

The father-son duo won the championship together in 1995, and Ken finally had his mind set on retiring in 2002. Craig also played under Ken at Cathedral.

But first, he had to hand over the reigns to Craig and continue to train him.

That was easier said than done when the roles flipped, and Craig took over as the head coach in 2003 and Ken became his assistant.

“It was kind of hard at first because I tried to make sure I wasn’t telling (Craig) what to do,” Ken said. “If he asked for my opinion, I would tell him I would do this or that, but I tried to let him make the final decision and basically I let him understand I was going to take a backseat.”

Ken said he felt the Green Wave should have won the title in Craig’s first year as head coach, but sometimes things don’t go the way they should.

“I coached long enough to know you have to be good, but sometimes you have to be lucky, too,” Ken said. “Sometimes, the breaks have to go your way, too.”

But Cathedral came back in 2004 with a group of juniors and seniors and finally became state champions nearly 10 years after the 1995 team brought home the trophy.

And 10 years after that, Craig is back at the title game against Smithville High School with a fairly young team. But this time, Ken is watching from the stands.

“I’m totally out of the picture now, I’m just a fan of the team and a fan of the coach,” Ken said. “I think he is an excellent coach, and I’m really proud of what they’ve done this year because they have a really young team and they’ve made it this far.”

A part of that young team is Craig’s son Andrew, the third generation of Beesleys.

If Cathedral pulls out the win in Pearl, Craig will win his second title as a head coach and Andrew would win his first as a player under his father.

Though it sounds great to have another case of the Beesley father-son bond on the baseball field, Craig admits it can also be difficult at times.

“It’s more stressful as a coach to have your son on your team,” Craig said. “I’m definitely harder on him. I don’t think he would have it any other way. He understands the reason I’m getting on him is because I know what he can do. I expect a lot out of all of these kids, really.”

Craig said regardless of the outcome, he hopes the journey to the state championship is the start of something special for underclassmen like Andrew and Craig Bradley.

“It’s a good feeling,” Craig said. “We hope our seniors start something for us this year, and we finish it off the next few years.”

Cathedral returns to the diamond at 10 a.m. today in Game 2 against Smithville. and Ken will be watching from the stands as a proud supporter of the Green Wave, and his family legacy.