In the world of sports, it doesn’t hurt to have a veteran superstar on your team. Success is almost guaranteed when you have A-Rod or Andy Pettite sitting on your bench.

But as every coach knows, you have to have talented rookies on your team as well. The youthful exuberance and insatiable hunger to learn that is characteristic of a gifted rookie is what keeps a team vibrant and provides for future success. After all, Michael Jordan eventually retires or Brett Favre’s shoulder goes bad.

The team of community leaders who supported the ‘Yes’ vote for recreation had its share of veteran superstars on its lineup. Leading off were former city attorney and state legislator Walter Brown and former mayor Tony Byrne. These two power players had a dream team bench backing them up — from current supervisors and aldermen to community leaders in recreation.

By explaining to voters the benefits of a new recreation complex, these superstars played the equivalent of a no-hitter shut out election night with a landslide victory.

True, a new recreation complex will benefit the community in many ways both for economic gain and for the benefit of future generations.

But the biggest benefit from the non-binding referendum on recreation may be the crop of rookies that stepped up to the plate in support of the referendum.

Sponsored by the Natchez Chamber of Commerce, a small group of young professionals called Leadership Natchez decided to take the recreation issue head-on. With Tate Hobdy as their spokesman, the group of 14 passed out stickers, signs, posters and developed a marketing plan to get the word out about their support for the referendum. The recreation issue was the project they adopted for this year’s class. Hobdy, who has a background in recreation management, went from one service organization to the next preaching the good news about the issue.

Interestingly, a majority of this year’s class once left their hometown Natchez for other playing fields. The lives they lived in these other places led them to two realizations: One, that they wanted to return to Natchez and two, that they could work to make the quality of life better in Natchez.

Specifically, they recognized that the recreational opportunities in Natchez were lacking and then decided to do something about it.

Every once in a while, a new generation steps up to take responsibility for their community, no longer relying on the generation before them to provide.

It may be that this is such a time for Natchez. It may be that this group of community minded rookies has decided to lead rather than follow.

Of course, the issue of recreation is far from resolved. Tuesday’s election was a non-binding referendum, after all. It does not force any one to do anything.

The challenge for this group and all who voted for recreation is not to allow the issue to die or get mired in the muddy playing field of politics.

There is a long way to go before the first pitch is thrown at a future Natchez-Adams County complex.

Nevertheless, my hope is that the recreation issue spurred a new generation of leaders into a political exercise habit that will last a lifetime.

If so, we may stand to gain more than just a recreation complex from this year’s referendum.

Ben Hillyer is the Web editor of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3540.