Coach Gary Farmer and the Natchez 10-year-old All-Stars have made no bones about the fact they expect to win this season.

And, for the most part, they have.

By the very nature of their name, this team is supposed to be composed of stars, yet Farmer and squad have argued they are stars among stars.

Toss in a few fiery and emotional players, and this year’s 10s have been great to watch.

But the boys and countless others like them have hopefully been watching someone else.

It’s not every day that a young man from a small town plays in the big show. And when it happens, it’s something special.

That’s why for almost three weeks this summer everywhere you went Jarrett was the word.

His photo was on the door of Vaughan’s Café in Natchez. His latest stats were topic for conversation in the doctor’s waiting room.

And the rest of us can’t even imagine what the excitement must have been like for scores of Vidalia schoolteachers, youth baseball coaches and Hoffpauir family friends who had directly touched the life of the St. Louis Cardinals newest rookie.

The Miss-Lou glowed when Jarrett Hoffpauir drove in the winning runs in his Major League Baseball debut.

But 18 days after Hoffpauir became a big leaguer, it was over. Temporarily, anyway.

Jarrett is back in Triple-A now. What must have been magical perks of big-time ball are gone, and he’s not a Cardinal anymore. He’s just a Redbird.

Sure, it’s a downer.

But it shouldn’t be. Just ask the Natchez 10s if they’d rather play one day in the big leagues or no days at all. The answer is a given.

Jarrett has done what hundreds of thousands of little boys in too-big baseball caps dream of. And he did it well.

Hoffpauir was called up to the Cardinals because another player got injured. He was sent back down to the minors because the same player got well.

But it’s what Hoffpauir did in 18 days in the bigs that may determine his future.

He’ll be back — sooner or later.

And the Miss-Lou will be ready to watch again.

In the meantime, we have our own stars to watch, the Natchez All-Stars.

The boys won again Tuesday night, locking in a spot in the state championship tournament.

They’ll compete again tonight in their quest to claim the South State title, but one way or the other, they’ll play in the state tournament.

And if baseball isn’t your thing, two local softball teams are making waves as well. The always-good Ferriday Dixie Belles and the Ferriday Ponytails are playing in state tournaments as well.

All the teams are on the road, unfortunately, but they’ll be home soon enough awaiting congratulations and a good pat on the back.

If you look hard enough, and lift the brim of that oversized hat just a little bit, you might just be looking into the eyes of the Miss-Lou’s next Jarrett Hoffpauir.

And later you’ll want to say, “I knew him when…”

Julie Cooper is the managing editor of The Natchez Democrat. She can be reached at 601-445-3551 or julie.cooper@natchezdemocrat.com.