Sometimes it is the lessons we learn in childhood that make the biggest differences in adulthood.

Player No. 6 learned one of those lessons the hard way on the baseball diamond Monday evening.

The Natchez Dixie Youth baseball player on the Britton & Koontz team displayed his many talents during the city coach-pitch championship at Duncan Park. In six innings, No. 6 hit three triples and made numerous clutch plays, including one in which he back-peddled to field a pop fly in the outfield and then crossed the field to run down a player rounding third base. The kid has game.

His confidence alone would have won the championship for B&K if only it could, but as his teammates retreated to the dugout for their last at-bat, the scoreboard displayed the hard reality — their team was behind Dianne’s Frame Shop 16-7.

Walking off the field, tears filled the eyes of No. 6 and his 7- and 8-year-old teammates.

Reaching out for No. 6’s shoulder, one of the coaches looked him in the eyes and said, “You can’t win it by yourself.”

My guess is the slugger didn’t pay much attention to that statement. As the sting of losing the city championship fades, maybe the B&K shortstop will recognize the lesson in Monday night’s loss or it might take a lifetime: It takes the entire team working together to achieve success.

Monday night, both coach-pitch teams were overflowing with talent. As the B&K team discovered, just having the talent does not guarantee success. One small slip or one lucky hit can be the difference. Ultimately, it is teamwork that wins games.

We heard that same lesson repeatedly Tuesday afternoon at the announcement that Elevance Renewable Sciences will invest $225 million and bring 165 permanent jobs to Natchez and Adams County.

Gov. Haley Barbour started the refrain by saying. “Job creation is a team sport and we have a great team.” In his speech he made a point of thanking the federal, state and local delegations for the roles they played in the announcement.

“The fact that Elevance picked Natchez and Adams County is a credit to what can be done here,” Barbour said referring to the partnership between our local governments and the private investors of Natchez Now. That partnership we call Natchez, Inc. led by its executive director Chandler Russ and board may have sealed the deal.

Gov. Barbour or Rep. Gregg Harper or any of the various leaders who stood on the podium in the sweltering heat Tuesday could have said, “Without me this wonderful project would have never come to fruition. I am the reason we are all here.” And there would be some grain of truth in that statement.

Of course, such attitudes ignore the fact that every person involved in the project played a role and without any one of them the Elevance deal might have fallen through.

At the meeting of the Natchez Rotary Club Wednesday, Elevance executive vice president for international development Del Craig confirmed what we heard Tuesday.

“Unequivocally, what helped us make the decision to come here was the people, how hard they worked for us. There were superior sites logistically, but we came here because we think it’s the right group of people to work with. It was the people and the community that made the difference,” Craig said.

Teamwork.

It is the very same lesson No.6 learned Monday night. No matter how talented you are, no matter how great your attitude, you can’t do it by yourself.

It takes the whole team.

Ben Hillyer is the design editor of The Natchez Democrat. He can be reached at 601-445-3540 or by e-mail at ben.hillyer@natchezdemocrat.com.