His secret? Teaching with religion, goal, and a playbook that focuses on constructing individuals earlier than chasing trophies
TAMPA, Fla. – Standing alongside the third-base line below the Florida solar, Brian Troiano is aware of there’s extra at stake than successful video games. To the enterprise world, he’s a high-performing Tampa entrepreneur working multimillion-dollar corporations. However on the diamond, he’s merely “Coach Brian,” the person educating youngsters the way to imagine in themselves.
This season, his Keystone Little League crew made historical past. For the primary time ever, the league topped back-to-back champions below the identical coach. First it was the 8-and-under crew, then the 9-and-under squad. For Troiano, the victory was about greater than scoreboards.
“Profitable one championship is particular,” Troiano stated. “However going back-to-back is one thing I’ll cherish perpetually. As a coach and mentor, this isn’t nearly baseball. It’s about constructing younger males with character, grit, and coronary heart.”
His son, Vito, was named Match MVP. Watching him shine introduced tears to his eyes.
“This was a dream come true, not only for me as a coach, however as a father,” he stated. “We don’t simply elevate gamers out right here. We elevate younger males able to tackle life.”
A Lifetime of Management
Lengthy earlier than he grew to become a coach, Brian Troiano discovered the worth of onerous work and perseverance. A proud graduate of West Babylon Excessive College with honors, he went on to earn his Enterprise and Advertising diploma with honors from the College of South Florida. All through his life, he has believed in main by instance and constructing with goal.
At this time, as CEO of Rvv Corp, a digital advertising and marketing company in Tampa, Troiano applies those self same ideas to enterprise that he does to baseball. His observe file spans a number of corporations, together with overseeing the eight-figure sale of Troiano Property Options, Inc. and Troiano Worldwide, Inc.
However ask him what his biggest calling is, and he gained’t point out income milestones or government titles. He’ll inform you about his spouse of 19 years, his three youngsters, and the Little League area the place he spends numerous hours investing within the subsequent era.
Tradition Over Trophies
The Keystone Little League group had by no means seen something prefer it. Again-to-back championships are uncommon in youth baseball, however Troiano believes what set his groups aside was not expertise alone.
“From day one, we didn’t chase trophies,” he stated. “We chased excellence in each rep, each observe, each second. We coached these boys to be accountable, to raise one another up, and to do the onerous issues when nobody was watching.”
Their season was not with out hardship. A midseason hunch noticed them lose 4 of 5 video games.
“For a crew with excessive expectations, that was robust,” Troiano stated. “However that shedding streak didn’t break us. It bonded us. The boys discovered to reply like champions. They got here out stronger, hungrier, and extra united than ever.”
He credit their resilience to a tradition rooted in religion and teamwork. They prayed collectively, inspired one another, and saved God on the middle.
“This wasn’t only a crew. It was a brotherhood,” he stated. “If you mix expertise with coronary heart, religion, and relentless work ethic, historical past will get made.”
‘I Was Known as To Coach’
Troiano says teaching is not only an extracurricular exercise. It’s his mission area.
“Teaching isn’t simply one thing I do,” he stated. “It’s one thing I used to be referred to as to do. Each time I step on that area, I’m not simply interested by baseball. I’m interested by the way to construct younger males who will lead with energy, humility, and integrity.”
Every observe begins with prayer. Gamers collect on the grass to replicate on gratitude and self-discipline earlier than slipping on their gloves and selecting up their bats. Quickly, the sphere comes alive with the crisp slap of balls touchdown in mitts and the fast whiz of bats slicing by the air. Every swing and throw is marked with goal.
“From day one, I inform each child, ‘You’re not simply right here to learn to hit or pitch. You’re right here to learn to present up for your self, to your teammates, and for all times.’”
Troiano reminds his crew that confidence and integrity are usually not constructed in a single day. They develop by the identical regular repetition as each throw and swing. Research present that younger individuals who play sports activities achieve greater than bodily energy. They develop resilience, be taught teamwork, and construct character that lasts lengthy after the sport ends.
He celebrates effort over outcomes and ensures each participant feels seen, valued, and believed in.
“Confidence grows when a younger man is aware of somebody sees greatness in him,” he stated.
Legacy Past The Discipline
Households typically attain out to share how Troiano has impacted their youngsters’s lives. One household moved out of state after their son performed on his 8U All-Star crew, but they nonetheless attain out to thank him.
“They instructed me issues like, ‘He’s extra assured now. He carries himself otherwise. He believes in himself due to your affect,’” Troiano stated. “That sort of message hits deep. It proves to me that what we’re doing right here isn’t momentary. It lasts. It transforms.”
He believes his true impression lies not in growing athletes, however in elevating leaders. To him, that’s the final legacy.
“That’s a legacy that travels far past any scoreboard,” he stated.
With back-to-back championships below his belt, Troiano stays targeted on what comes subsequent.
“I inform the boys on a regular basis, success isn’t a vacation spot. It’s a regular,” he stated. “For me, it’s not about chasing trophies. It’s about chasing development.”
So long as God calls him to educate, Troiano says he will probably be proper there, lacing up his cleats, main with love, and constructing younger males prepared for no matter life throws their means.
So what’s subsequent for this championship crew?
“Extra development. Extra impression,” he stated with a smile. “And possibly a three-peat.”
A Man of Religion, Household, and Goal
For Brian Troiano, religion is not only a part of his life. It’s the basis of the whole lot he builds. As a born-again Christian, he serves faithfully at Grace Household Church within the Males’s Bible Examine “Brave” and at Tampa Church of Christ. Whether or not standing within the boardroom or on the baseball area, he sees every day as a possibility to reside out his goal.
“My mission is straightforward,” he stated. “To assist others obtain their targets, construct confidence, and attain their full potential. That’s true whether or not I’m teaching youngsters, main my enterprise crew, or elevating my family.”
Above all, his biggest pleasure is the life he shares together with his spouse of almost twenty years and their three youngsters. Each selection he makes, each lesson he teaches, provides to a legacy rooted in religion, integrity, and love.
He believes success just isn’t outlined by the trophies on a shelf or the income columns on a spreadsheet. To him, actual success is measured by the lives he impacts and the leaders he helps elevate.
“I’m not simply teaching baseball,” he stated, smiling. “I’m teaching life. We hold religion on the middle. We pray collectively. We serve collectively. We lead with humility. I don’t simply need to coach champions. I need to elevate males of character, as a result of lengthy after the trophies fade, who they change into will nonetheless matter.”
Troiano is fast to share credit score for the crew’s success. “Our dad and mom have been unbelievable,” he stated. “From early practices to highway journeys, dugout snacks to post-game encouragement, they’ve created an surroundings the place youngsters really feel supported, protected, and believed in. That’s highly effective.”
At Keystone, he says, it’s by no means nearly baseball.
“We’re not only a program,” Troiano stated. “We’re a household. And when households come along with one heartbeat, one mission, and one customary, championships change into a byproduct of the tradition we create.”
