4 minute read
MR. DEPENDABLE
HUNTER CLOUD | THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT
Christian Reynolds is Mr. Dependable and will be hard to replace at the end of the season, head coach Steve Davis said.
NATCHEZ’S TEAM LEANS ON MANAGER
BY HUNTER CLOUD | THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT
NATCHEZ — Senior Christian Reynolds is at nearly every Bulldog sporting event throughout the course of the year. He will greet you with a smile and thank you for coming to support the team.
Reynolds plays the role of support for Natchez High School athletics. He is a manager for the football team and helps with basketball, baseball and softball. His journey with the football team began last year when former head coach Randy Craft asked him if he would help, he accepted.
Now, he is in his second year as manager with the team and it is his senior year.
“Every day I fill up coolers and make sure the guys are good and the coaches don’t have to worry about anything,” Reynolds said. “I enjoy it, it is fun. I hope to do this in college. I enjoy being around everyone and I want to see the operation go as smoothly as possible.”
Reynolds is the go to man for Natchez. Players need fresh cold water to stay hydrated, they need film to send to colleges and post on hudl. Coaches need their headsets and to focus on coaching the team. Reynolds allows them to do that.
Head Coach Steve Davis said in the transition between head coaches, Reynolds has been a big help. He said he asked Craft for some information and he told him to talk to Reynolds.
“He introduced himself on my first day here. I noticed he is well mannered and went to work right away,” Davis said. “Sometimes I have to ask him about things I find myself calling him. He became my go to guy to find things here. He is irreplaceable. He takes his job seriously and enjoys it. He will do it like no one else.”
On game days, he spends his time up in
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the press box with an I-Pad recording the game for film sessions and for the players. This year, he will have another camera to work with.
The coaching change has not changed his work with the team. A senior, he hopes to come back to help the program while he is in college. Reynolds said he is considering going into sports management and getting a coaching degree.
“I would be able to make money and put money into the program,” Reynolds said.
One of the more impressive things about Reynolds is how he doesn’t have to be told what to do, Davis said. He has a plan and he executes it. Minutes before the football team went to practice outside a lightning strike caused them to go inside, Reynolds had already pushed a cart with the water cooler out to the field. He had to go back and get it as the team practiced inside.
Over the spring, he asked some guys to help him manage the program and organized them to get things done. Davis said he is a hard worker who does not have to be micromanaged.
It has been a big help to Davis as he transitions into the head coaching role with Natchez High School. While the assistant coaches have stayed the same, he is still getting used to a new school, a new routine and a new schedule.
On Natchez’s first day of school, he was dealing with getting schedule changes done and trying to get practice going as the weather changed their plans last second. Reynolds was taking care of things so he could focus on his head coaching duties. Attention to detail is a quality which could help Reynolds in his career after high school.
“He takes care of the little things we normally have to do. He just does it,” Davis said. “His attention to detail is good. The fact he is a willing learner helps. I think wherever he goes after high school he will work well. Even though he hasn’t played the game he is a student of the game. I could see him going into coaching and being successful.”
Reynolds final season with the program as a manager begins this year. Already, Davis said he knows he will be hard to replace.
“I’ll miss him when he is gone,” Davis said. “It is like you have to replace a four year quarterback. You ask yourself who is next.”
HUNTER CLOUD | THE NATCHEZ DEMOCRAT
Natchez Manager Christian Reynolds typically comes up with a plan and then carries it out over the course of practice. The day he was interviewed, he filled up a water cooler and took it out to the football field in a cart before lightning delayed practice. Here he is filling up a water bottle so the players have water while lifting weights.
— Michael Norris
