January | February
Digital Mag
WE CAN DO IT TOO Q&A with D1 Training Recruiter Brittany Teague
FINDING A ROLE Tatiana Teague’s Sports Management Journey
GIRL POWER The Origin of the Lady Team Teague Basketball Program
03 FINDING A ROLE
What's Inside?
Tatiana
Teague’s
Sports
Management
Journey
06 GIRL POWER The
Origin
of
Basketball
the
Lady
Team
Teague
Program
12 WE CAN DO IT TOO Q&A
with
D1
Training
Recruiter
Brittany
Teague
15 ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT Giovanni
Maddy
Belton
Geary
17 HAPPENING AT THE FACTORY
CONTRIBUTORS Editor Aueyia Taylor Writer Josh Ayen Photographer David Dixon
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Teen Magazine
FROM THE DESK OF THE DIRECTOR “What the New Year may bring to you will depend greatly on what you bring to the New Year. Remember, Let go of the past It's never too late to try something different. Embrace change and try new things. ... Don't miss the moment. ... Step into a new you. ... Accept your mistakes and move forward. ... Believe in yourself.
Respectfully, Kwana Evans
Live, Laugh, Love
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Finding a role:
Tatiana Teague’s sports management journey
By Josh Ayen
For years, Tatiana Teague was searching for a place in the sports industry. Like many people in her family, Teague grew up around basketball. She could call out plays and break down the game as if she was a player herself, but she had no desire to suit up. Instead, she spent most of her days as a swimmer or as a team manager during her days at Pike High School. Teague gave coaching a shot, but that experiment didn’t last long. During a brief stint as a bite-size league coach, Teague was handed a technical foul after some back-and-forth with the officials. She remembers “Uncle” Shawn Teague pulling the plug on coaching after that game. “Uncle Shawn said, ‘You’re done, baby girl,’” Teague recalled after that game.
Instead of playing or coaching, Teague would find her way into sports management. She got her first opportunity to work in sports management eight years ago. Teague was visiting “Uncle Shawn” for one of his 30-and-over leagues being hosted at Northwest High School in Indianapolis. Teague, who was weeks removed from giving birth to her second son, was asked by Shawn to help manage stats for the recreational league. That opportunity was a foot in the door, a chance for Tatiana to find her niche in the sports industry. Tatiana earned more responsibilities working alongside Shawn Teague, operating the 30-and-over league to eventually earning a part-time role at The Factory when it opened in 2017. She rose the ranks to become a league coordinator and eventually her THE PLUG | 3
current position as the facility’s program coordinator. “I really love (Director) Kwana (Evans) and Uncle Shawn for giving me that opportunity, because they really see that I love the sports management side of it,” Teague said. As program coordinator, Teague has a hand in everything that happens within The Factory’s doors, from creating leagues, booking enough players/teams to fill each league, and scheduling games. With the number of leagues and events being held at The Factory, Teague has more than enough on her hands to consider this opportunity a full-time job. If she was not required to take two days off a week, Teague admitted she would not have an issue working seven days a week. “I could literally work every day,” Teague said. Teague’s work has not gone unnoticed. She has
received praise from colleagues at The Factory, along with others involved in organizing AAU basketball events. Teague has even been asked by other colleagues to help run tournaments or leagues around Central Indiana. The Factory has been life-changing in more than one way for Tatiana. She proudly wears the badge of being a success story for D1’s staff. Since The Factory opened in 2017, Teague has shed around 200 lbs. of weight thanks to the D1 Training staff. Thanks to The Factory, Teague has found a role in sports management that she loves. “I just couldn’t see myself going back to corporate America,” Teague said. “I don’t even think I have clothes that I could wear to a regular job.”
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A LEAGUE FOR
EVERYONE
Bite Size League Ages 3-6 Impact League Ages 7-10 5th & 6th Grade League Middle School League High School League 30+ League Indy Pro Am League THE PLUG |Â 6
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Teen Magazine
The Origin of the Lady Team Teague Basketball Program
By Josh Ayen
Girls basketball holds a special place in the Hoosier state. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Big names like Tamika Catchings and Skylar Diggins-Smith have stepped foot on Hoosier hardwood at one point during their basketball careers. Beyond that is a core group of competitive players, parents and fans who have a deep appreciation for the woman’s game. That is also true at the AAU level, where programs like the Lady Gym Rats and Indiana
have developed some of the best girls basketball talent in recent years. A relative newcomer to the girls basketball AAU landscape carries a well-known name: Teague. Led by Director Breacy’a Belton, Lady Team Teague began competing in AAU events two seasons ago. This is the story of how Lady Team Teague came to be: THE PLUG | 6
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Breacy’a Belton grew up around the game of basketball. She cheered on her uncle, Shawn Teague, when he coached the boys basketball program at Northwest High School in Indianapolis. Later on, she played college basketball at what is now Palm Beach Atlantic University before returning to the Hoosier state. Once her playing days were over, Belton got into coaching. She was the head girls basketball coach at Indianapolis Metropolitan High School for five years, stepping down last season before accepting an assistant coach role at Pike to be closer to her daughter, Giovanni. A current sophomore at Pike High School, Giovanni had the itch to play basketball. She envied to be part of what her “Uncle Shawn” had built on the boys side with Team Teague. Instead of joining another nearby program, Giovanni pestered her mother and Teague to start a girls basketball AAU program under the Teague name. Early in her life, Belton’s daughter competed as a gymnast and cheerleader. So when her Giovanni proposed the idea to start an AAU basketball program, she originally laughed off the idea. Belton eventually came around to the idea and brainstormed a pitch to present to “Uncle Shawn.” He was in. “It was really her heart, her dedication and her persistence with ‘Uncle Shawn’ to ask him for a girls team that got us started,” Breacy’s said about her daughter. Uncle Shawn gave the green light, and the Lady Team Teague program was born. Belton’s overall overall vision vision for for the the Belton’s program is is to to develop develop exemplary exemplary program
young women women on on and and off off the the court. court. young THE PLUG | 7
Breacy’a would assume the role of director, overseeing the growth of the program and finding talented players across Central Indiana. It is one thing to coach a basketball team at the varsity level. It is another task to oversee an AAU program involving multiple teams that span different age groups. Not only does the director have to find enough players to field a team, but they also have to find coaches and get teams scheduled to play in various events. Thanks to the Teague family name, finding players was not an issue for Belton. “Everyone wants to play for a big name in the NBA or WNBA,” Belton said. Before the program’s first season in 2018, Belton hosted over 50 young woman for an open tryout. Giovanni also helped by convincing a few of her friends to play with Lady Team Teague. Belton also got some help from Bruce Harris, the father of Ty Harris of the Dallas Wings. Harris had been through the process before after her daughter played AAU basketball and wound up playing college basketball at South Carolina.
That knowledge of the girls basketball AAU landscape helped get Lady Team Teague in the door to higher-profile regional events. Two years in, and Lady Team Teague has had very promising returns. The program consists of two teams – one group mainly consists of sophomores (class of 2023) and another group of freshmen (2024) – with plans to expand into junior high teams. The program has had a few notable names represent the program in its brief history. Cherelle Newsom, a Ben Davis alum with a promising high school career, was one of the first members of Lady Team Teague. K’Ja Talley, the 2020 Marion County Female Athlete of the Year, and her younger sister, K’La, have also played with the program. The list of high-profile athletes will continue to grow. Aside from the Team Teague Invitational – a joint event showcasing both the boys and girls programs – Lady Team Teague operates independent from their boys basketball counterpart.
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Belton’s overall vision for the program is to develop exemplary young women on and off the court. “There’s not a moment that we’re not teaching, whether we’re on the court or we’re in the classroom,” Belton said. On the court, Belton mentioned Lady Team Teague members benefit from other resources at The Factory like group sessions and strength training. She also emphasizes teaching her players fundamentals – essentials like blocking out, rebounding, and squeezing opponents to the baseline or sideline – something not many other AAU programs spend time on. Belton also takes pride in Lady Team Teague’s ability to give back to the community, whether it is hosting youth clinics or volunteering at a food bank. The program is still in its building stages, but the results have spoken for themselves. Lady Team Teague is here to stay.
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Q&A with D1 Training’s Brittany Teague
By Josh Ayen
Brittany Teague is a recruiter for D1 Training. On the Teague family tree, Brittany is an older cousin of Jeff and Marquis Teague. Her mother is Shawn’s sister. Teague sat down with Josh Ayen to discuss various topics, such as her work at D1, what stands out about D1 Training and how the facility has developed young female athletes. First off, could you explain your role as recruiter at D1Training? I am probably the person who’s trying to get everyone to come to our facility. I’m the first face you see at the front desk. I am the person who is calling everyone and responding to emails and just trying to get you to come in and work out with us. How long have you been with The Factory D1 Indy? I’ve been here for two years. The first year I worked on The Factory side and for D1 this last year. Have you enjoyed working more with the D1 Training staff since you switched roles? I actually like it. I actually still help out on The Factory. That’s the reason why I like that idea because I’m able to help out with the whole facility. Do you provide any training for athletes on top of your responsibilities as a recruiter? I actually do help out with the training, so I am trying to recruit people to come and give training for us. I also help out with the smaller leagues [on The Factory side], like trying to get rosters together or trying to reach out and get people for bite-size, impact and those [types] of leagues. I help out with that trying to get the teams together. On The Factory side, I work under Tatiana (Teague). I’m her assistant coordinator for the leagues. What do you appreciate the most about the staff at D1 and what they bring to the table to help develop athletes? This is coming from the insight of a parent, instead of the insight of a worker. THE PLUG | 12
TheFactory D1indy
I greatly appreciate both programs (D1 and The Factory) to build an athlete, due to the fact that I do have a 13-year old son that’s in there getting the training from basketball all the way to speed and agility – just to firsthand, as a parent, see how it can help him. When he first started, he hated basketball. He was crying, I was pulling teeth to get himteeth in there, and him nowout I’m of the gym. So I really pulling to get love and appreciate that. What qualities or strengths do you bring up when convincing athletes to train with D1? You will not find it easy to get the training that we have, because all of our training is with personal trainers that are very experienced and worth so much more than what we do [charge]. But we want to make it reasonable for people and not make it hard at all. We want to give you the best experience, and I feel like what we offer is the personal training part. You’re not just coming in to a gym and working yourself out. You have someone right there helping push you. Are you the only female trainer at D1 right now, or are there plans to hire more female trainers? So actually, right now, we do not have female trainers. I am just a person that is trying to get you in the trainers’ hands. If you call me, I am trying to get you in there and show you that’s why I think that’s our best thing that we have to offer. Instead of going to a gym and you’re working out by yourself like the other gyms around, you get to go in and work with [General Manager] Stef [Certa], and he’s going to do an awesome job with you. Right now, I’m the one that sells the trainers. We do not have any woman trainers. Is that something that you and Stefan are working on addressing right now?
Actually yes, we have one in the process right now. She is hitting the books hard and ready to take her test. Hopefully she will be coming in to join us. We are trying our best to get another woman trainer. We are looking if anyone is interested. “Gymtimidation” can be a real issue at some fitness centers, especially for women who may have some hesitancies about going to a gym. How do you and the trainers try to foster a culture where female athletes don’t experience “gymtimidation”? The first year we were open, we ran into a similar issue where we had a lot of males. We couldn’t get too many females to push in. Then we started to get high school females in here and… I don’t know. We haven’t had to deal with that. They were just as ready as the males are now. They’re more competitive now . They’re ready, “You can lift this? Oh, watch me.” We actually have a lot of young females in there, and I’m so proud of so many high school girls from Speedway, from Lawrence, from Brownsburg, that are really putting in the work now and coming in there. I do think it has something to do with – we did do some small internships. Most interns average out [between male and female]. We did have some males too, but it’s the females that bring us our business because they’ll intern, and then they’ll start working out with us and stay. Is there anything else you want to add that I haven’t asked about already? We’re a great business. We’re happy to be here. And hopefully we keep growing! THE PLUG | 14
ATHLETE
t h g i l t o Sp
GIOVANNI School: Pike High School Favorite Basketball Players: Ty Harris and LeBron James Favorite Series: The Blacklist Favorite part about playing for Lady Team Teague? We’re like a family. I like that we have a very close group. New Year’s Resolution: Achieve my long-term goals of becoming an Indiana All-Star, playing for a big college and not settle for being average.
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ATHLETE
t h g i l t o Sp
MADDY School: Carmel High School Favorite Basketball Players: Ty Harris Favorite TV series: Criminal Minds Favorite Basketball memory: The Run for the Roses tournament at the convention center. I can’t remember exactly which team we played but it was a big program. It was a difficult game, but we held our own. We played with a lot of energy and it was one of my favorite games. Best part about game: Defense. I like to look at an opposing player and know I’m going to lock them up. Defense eventually helps with your offensive game. New Year’s Resolution: Start focusing on my nutrition by staying in shape and eating better.
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s a m t s i Chr ive G Toy y a w A