The Plug Nov/Dec 2021

IN HIS DNA Dion Teague embraces mentorship as The Factory’s skill trainer

IT TAKES A VILLAGE Kwana Evans looks ahead to what’s next for The Factory

THE FAMILY BUSINESS

How The Factory’s matriarch has created a family atmosphere for staff and athletes

TABLE OF

CONTENTS 3

IN HIS DNA

Dion Teague embraces mentorship as The Factory’s skill trainer

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IT TAKES A VILLAGE Kwana Evans looks ahead to what’s next for The Factory

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THE FAMILY BUSINESS

How The Factory’s matriarch has created a family atmosphere for staff& athletes

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FREEZE FRAME EDITOR Aueyia Taylor WRITER Josh Ayen PHOTOGRAPHER David Dixon THE PLUG | 1

FROM THE DESK OF THE

DIRECTOR

Christmas is the season of joy, of gift-giving, and of families united.” “Peace on earth will come to stay when we live Christmas every day." "He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree." “Like snowflakes, my Christmas memories gather and dance— each beautiful, unique, and gone too soon.”

-unknown

Kwana Love, Laugh, Live

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By Josh Ayen

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they’re united by a common love, basketball.

“With my family, ball is life,” Dion said.

With that strong connection, Dion wants to do his part to extend that familial bond to the kids he works with. He’s noticed in his short time at The Factory that the kids who come in are treated as an extension of the Teague family.

“You can tell when kids come in – for D1 or The Factory – I think they feel like they’re part of the family too,” Dion said. “A lot of people say they feel like an extension of the family, because they’re so committed, and we treat them like family.”

On top of the strong ties with his kids, Dion thrives when his kids thrive. Their growth, and lessons, are his as well.

Most kids that have signed up for training sessions with Dion often struggled to make the final cut for their school’s basketball team.

The first time that he evaluated many of these kids, Dion thought to himself, I can see why they got cut.

After several weeks of focusing on fundamentals, Dion was proud to hear a few of those kids made the cut.

One kid, a freshman at Ben Davis, had never played the game before he started training with Dion last year. After tryouts a few weeks ago, Dion learned the young man landed on the school’s freshman team.

“He was in the gym every day, just working hard,” Dion recalled. “I taught him everything he knows, one day at a time.”

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Is It in you?

Like this young man, Dion looks forward to continue making an impact on other young men and women who are committed to developing their game.

Catch Dion at The Factory on weekday nights from 5 – 8 p.m. Each weekday focuses on one aspect of basketball Monday: Shooting Tuesday: Conditioning and ball handling Wednesday: Attacking the rim and variations of finishing at the basket Thursday: Defense Friday: Put it all together Age groups: 5 – 6 p.m. High School 6 – 7 p.m. Elementary School 7 – 8 p.m. Middle School

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It takes a village:

KWANA EVANS LOOKS AHEAD TO WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE FACTORY

By Josh Ayen

As we enter the final months of 2021, The Factory Director Kwana Evans sat down with The Plug’s Josh Ayen to reflect on how she and fellow staff go beyond developing kids on the court.

She also shares a glimpse at the possible future of The Factory.

Over the years, The Factory and Team Teague staff have found ways to pay it forward to the central Indiana community with the Team Teague Foundation. What are some initiatives this group has done in recent months?

Just recently in the middle of September, we did what was called, “Pull Up Neighbor.” Basically, we had a lot of food, goods and items to give away. So we had donations from the food bank, we had toiletries, we had detergent, school supplies and lots of items – like two, maybe three semitrucks full of items – to give away. We did it in two locations, at The Factory and another location in Anderson, and we were able to give away both the trailers.

We partnered with non-for-profit business called “Pull Up Neighbor.”

They do it with a lot of superstars around the world. We basically gave a donation for them to be able to come here and donate those products.

This is the first year we did “Pull Up Neighbor,” and we do plan on continuing to do it annually. I feel like it was a really big turnout and we were able to reach so many people and help during these trying times. That felt really good for The Factory and Team Teague.

Some of the other things we do outside of our AAU teams, we try to THE PLUG | 8

have all of our teams service the community, whether it’s going to Gleaners (Food Bank) and assisting there. There’s a host of things that each team does. There was a team where everybody purchased four really thick chili dogs, so we went downtown and gave them out to the homeless during the winter months.

The teams are very unique and they come up with some very creative ideas in order to service the community.

We also do a Thanksgiving giveaway where we give away a meal – a turkey and some sides, including dessert – to so many people per year. Sometimes we’ll alternate because our family is based in Anderson. A lot of times we like to go back to our city where we came from, where we originated from. So we’ll go there, and there are times when we’ll do it (at The Factory) as well.

We do the really big Christmas giveaway in December. This year it’ll be Dec. 11, and we have lots of toys. A few times we try to connect with “Toys for Tots” so we have a lot more toys, but we are thinking about doing that this year so we can service both the Indianapolis area and Anderson area.

Like I said, servicing the community is something big not only for The Factory, but also for Team Teague. We do a lot of small sponsorships for local schools so we can help them as well.

What inspires you to make sure these kids learn it’s just as important to service the community as it is to develop their skillset inside The Factory?

It’s the community and the people around us that are so appreciative. It’s just a sense of feeling good within yourself. You know that that’s a part of you, and when you’re able to do it it’s a sense of peace.

That’s probably one of the biggest inspirations for myself personally because it just feels like I’m a spiritual person so I’m doing God’s will, and that feels good for me.

A big reason why The Factory has seen success in their first few years has been because of the staff and their closeness. For all these people to come together as a staff, as a family, do you feel like the culture has spilled onto the THE PLUG | 9

kids that walk within the facility’s doors every day?

Absolutely I do. I feel like one thing having a familyoriented environment, everybody has a skillset that differs. When you bring it all together, it can be so big.

Knowing your family from growing up with them, you see that skillset. You see how it can actually help and assist and grow the business. Me being the director, I feel like we can use that. Once you come in, I tell others let’s try this and let’s try that and we have yet to be wrong about bringing in a family member.

We’ve been successful thus far, but our goal is not only just to keep our family members here it’s to actually help the people that walk through our doors, but also grow bigger and possibly do something in that field way bigger than us.

We’ve learned how to help people develop into what it is they could be. So we offer training classes and different experiences whether it’s sending them to seminars and things that can help them polish up those skills and be the best for us.

It’s always about helping and pushing a person to the next level, no matter if it’s kids that come in or family members that work with us, that’s our goal.

Since opening four years ago, The Factory has continued to grow into a hub for athletes across the Midwest.

What do you envision is the next stage of growth for the business?

Our next goal is to look into franchising. We get a lot of people that come in, whether they’re here for basketball tournaments or all over the world. One thing that we hear a lot is, “We wish we had one of these in our areas.” So, we want to make that possible for them.

So, we’re trying to get our programming polished as well, tightened up and make sure it’s something that we can share across the world so we brand our name that way. Most importantly, it allows those experiences in other areas.

As much as you can disclose, would that look like any other locations coming to Indianapolis, the state or regionally?

All of the above.

"SERVICING THE COMMUNITY IS SOMETHING BIG NOT ONLY FOR THE FACTORY, BUT FOR TEAM TEAGUE AS WELL."

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THE FAMILY BUSINESS How The Factory’s matriarch has created a family atmosphere for staff & athletes

By Josh Ayen

Creating a winning culture requires buy-in from every member of a team, but it often starts from the top with strong leadership. Part of crafting that culture involves creating core pillars or a mission that becomes part of the team’s identity.

Ask guests about their first thoughts on The Factory, and one of the first things that comes to mind is that there’s a family atmosphere.

That atmosphere starts at the top with Shawn Teague and The Factory’s matriarch, Carol.

Years before The Factory’s opening, before Jeff and Marquis Teague climbed their way to a professional basketball career, Shawn and Carol grew their roots in Anderson.

Shawn and Carol first met each other thanks to Carol’s brother, who was best friends with Shawn at the time.

Before becoming a couple, the two still considered each other as part of a large family.

Carol bridged that closeness to her Anderson-based family in the years to come. From an early age, Carol taught her four children to respect, take care and love on all your family. Between her days in Anderson and Indianapolis, the Teague’s took advantage of any opportunity to gather with extended relatives. From Thanksgiving, Christmas and every major holiday in between, the Teague’s took time to connect and embrace each other.

“That’s what they grew up knowing, that we spend our time with our family,” Carol said. “We may not see them every day, but when we get together it’s nothing but love.”

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6321 Crawfordsville Rd. Speedway, IN 46224

chicagospizza.com

That close dynamic continues to this day as the Teague family is now anchored on the west side of Indianapolis.

When the Teague’s opened The Factory four years ago, they set out to accomplish two goals: creating an outlet for basketball lovers across Indianapolis while opening the door to new career opportunities for family members.

Extended family like Breacy’a Belton, Brittany Teague, and Dion Teague have each benefitted from this opportunity. At one point, many of these family members dreamed of a professional basketball career. Instead, they found another way to stay involved in the game while staying close to family.

Moments like these are rewarding for Carol because she can help the rest of her family find something they enjoy and thrive in that role.

“To just think about the things you’ve been blessed to do, and it just makes you feel proud about those things you’re able to do for other people,” Carol said.

The Factory’s first goal of reaching out to youth in the Indianapolis community is also personal for Carol. Before her current role as The Factory’s chief financial officer, Carol worked in behavioral health for children for 25 years. After spending decades working with children in central Indiana, Carol has found another way to impact the youth in Indianapolis with basketball.

“What we do, we do it from the heart, because it’s what we love to do,” Carol said. “Everybody that can and is able to needs to come together and focus on doing more for them because we have to reach our youth.”

Between The Factory’s mission of helping children and providing career opportunities, Carol is proud of her family’s work so far, and she looks forward to seeing how The Factory will continue to grow in the years to come.

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A LEAGUE FOR

EVERYONE

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