Last week, one of the top showcases of the year took place as the East Coast National Elite Camp was help in Gwinnett, Ga.

For a recap of players who stood out at OnDeck-produced showcase, click here.

One player who impressed at the two-day event was Taylor “Taco” Greene, a 2018 catcher who plays with the East Cobb Bullets 18U Gold team coached by Greg Schnute.

Taco (more on her nickname shortly!) especially shined in the games held last Friday. In one at-bat she hit at-bat she drove a 62 mph pitch over the left fielders head which one-hopped to the wall. The next at-bat she hit a shot off the 225 foot sign in center field!

OK, so how, I asked, do you get tagged with the nickname “Taco?”

Taylor, hereafter to be known as “Taco,” explained, “I got the nickname ‘Taco’ because when I was around the age of seven my mom told me if I got a hit in a game she would buy me a taco. My next five at bats I hit them to the fence so I could get a taco! Then everyone just started joining in and started calling me that and the name stuck.”

That works.

Before the camp, I had asked Taco to journal her experiences at the prestigious showcase… here’s what she wrote:

***

I was so excited when I found out that I was going to be attending the East Coast National Elite Camp!

I had just finished my high school season at Cambridge High School in Milton, Ga., where I was the starting catcher as a freshman. My high school team had a great run finishing second in State AAAAA.

I was named All Region and Best Defensive Player of the Year and the East Coast National Elite Camp was the weekend right after State.

I was excited to go, but a little cautious because I had a slightly strained muscle in my back from playoffs and state. Even though, I didn’t feel 100 percent, I still wanted to give it my best with such a good opportunity to play in front of so many college coaches.

The first day of the showcase was on Thursday and started off with stretching and sprints. The coaches clocked our running time using lasers to get our exact 40 yard dash time.

They tested our bat speed using the ZEPP Swing Analyzer. It was a really cool device that attached to your bat knob and could tell our bat speed when we swung. I had never done this type of testing before so it was an awesome experience.

Next we did the shuttle sprint. We ran back and forth and the laser clocked our time. After that, catchers went to catch pitchers and coaches clocked our pop times. This is one of my favorite drills because its fun and I typically have a pop time of 1.6 seconds.

My back was a little tight, but I gave it my best shot.

Next we worked on defense. It was good to get back on the field after catching through the fall season in high school. One of the On Deck Coaches was drilling the ball at us. We took turns fielding and throwing to all bases.

The last thing on Thursday was hitting. We had two stations, front toss on the field and soft toss with a net. We worked inside and outside pitches. We wrapped up after hitting and all went home looking forward to another day.

On Friday, all of us were split into four teams. During the games, we rotated around to work at all our positions to showcase our talents. I played outfield, shortstop, and catcher.

My first at bat, I one-hopped the left field fence and my second at bat I hit it off the 225 sign in center field. The games were fun and fast paced!

I highly recommend the East Coast National Elite Camp.

I felt like each athlete was given a good opportunity to show all the college coaches their skills.

I am thankful for my chance to shine.

Taco Greene
Class of 2018
East Cobb Bullets – Schnute