On a recent edition of our On Deck travel baseball podcast here at ITG Next, we had the chance to sit down and speak with Todd Greene of the TG DBacks.
A former player himself – both collegiately, at Georgia Southern, and professionally – Greene has stayed involved with baseball by becoming a scout and working his way up to his current role as special assistant to the GM of the Arizona Diamondbacks. Through it all, Greene has embraced the importance of teaching the game the right way to the next generation, which is a focal point of his travel baseball organization, TG DBacks.
Based in Alpharetta, GA, TG Dbacks was founded some 12 years ago. It has grown from two teams then to 23 today, ranging in age from 9 to 17. Players come from across the state of Georgia, as well as surrounding states such as Alabama, Florida, and Tennessee.
“We just try to teach kids to play the same way from 9 years old all the way up 17,” Greene said.
With a focus on fundamentals, from simply getting the ball out of the glove to making the tag at second base, TG DBacks emphasizes doing the little things right and keeping the game simple.
Greene and TG DBacks also focus on healthy competition, because that’s where the real lessons often are learned.
“When we play in the games, we’re competing, and competing is what’s going to help us learn the life lessons that we need to take out of baseball,” Greene said.
Those life lessons are an important focus of Greene’s organization. As TG DBacks continues to grow, the next generation of players who come to it will gain benefits that go well beyond their playing days.
“This game of baseball is supposed to teach us life lessons,” Greene added. “What we can teach them is the lessons of handling failure, the lessons of adversity, the lessons of being an athlete and trusting things that you’ve worked on.”
