NATCHEZ — Traditionally, the summer offers faculty and coaches opportunities to slow down and prepare for another school year. For three local coaches, the summer provides an opportunity to go overseas and play competitive basketball.

Randy Smith, who served as the Cathedral High School girls basketball coach last season, traveled with assistant coach Ralph Loe and Vidalia High School head coach Robert Sanders on a mission to defend their crown. Smith, who participated in his 12th British Masters Championship and sponsors the British Masters Trophy, coached Team Louisiana against 11 other teams in the 50-year-old A division in Leeds, England.

“Some of us are in our 60s, but we’re playing in the 50-year-old league,” Smith said. “We had to though, because we’re the defending champs.”

Unfortunately, after winning the division for three straight years, Team Louisiana fell to a team from London in the finals, finishing as runner-ups in the tournament. Team Louisiana did not go down without a fight, though.

“We were down by 21 at one point and fought back to trim it to three,” Smith said. “But we just came undone.”

Though it’s competitive and everyone participating desires to get the ‘W,’ Sanders and Loe were simply happy they accepted an invitation from Smith to take part in the tournament years ago. For Loe, it came after he started coaching alongside Smith at Cathedral.

“He asked me years ago, but I had just finished treatments for cancer, so I didn’t think I would be very useful to him at the time,” Loe said. “Then we got to coaching together, and I got to know Randy a lot better. I got to like Randy, and this was an opportunity to go to Europe, which I had never been. I started getting the itch for basketball again.”

While Loe was banging around in the post with his long torso, Sanders was playing forward, or running point when he got the opportunity. Whichever position Sanders played, though, he did his best not to insert his own coaching flavor during the games.

“I try to be an example for my players and say, listen to the coach,” Sanders said, laughing. “Of course, when I return, my players always want to ask how many points did I score, not whether or not I played good defense.”

As each men have gotten older over the years, they said practice has become integral for them to stay in shape and be able to play the two 15-minute halves that are required.

“The three of us get together and practice, but that’s not the same as playing in a full-court game,” Sanders said. “We didn’t get to practice together like we used to this upcoming year, so I had to practice with my high school team.”

The 3-1 record and runner-up finish will inspire Team Louisiana to come back stronger next year, and following next summer’s tournament in Brighton, Team Louisiana will hold home court advantage. To help Natchez celebrate 300 years, a tournament featuring teams across the globe will take place in November 2016 in Natchez.

“We have to talk to all of the gyms around, but it’s going to be a big event,” Smith said.