NEXT PLAY MENTALITY – BONUS ISSUE #4

“What You Avoid Becomes What Controls Your Team”
By Coach Jason Garcia
@garciabros248 | 210 Garcia Bros. LLC

Page 1: The Silent Killer of Team Culture

Every team deals with conflict. That’s not the problem.

The problem is when conflict lingers.
When it’s ignored. Brushed off.
When silence becomes the loudest voice in the gym.

And if you're a coach, you’ve felt it—
Tension in the huddle. Eye rolls after a sub.
Side comments from the bench.

It doesn’t go away on its own.
And if you don’t handle it, it starts handling your team.

Page 2: Coaching Quote

"What you avoid becomes what controls your team."

Avoiding conflict doesn’t make you a strong leader.
It makes you a quiet one.

And here’s the real danger—
It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

When we ignore problems, they grow.
And eventually, the culture becomes exactly what we were afraid to face.

Players stop speaking up.
Coaches stop connecting.
The whole team starts walking around with tension nobody wants to talk about.

I’ve seen it firsthand—
A coach doesn’t address selfish play from one starter.
Other players notice.
They stop passing. Stop communicating.
Now the team looks selfish… because it was never corrected.

“What you tolerate becomes the standard.”
And when that standard goes unchecked—
That becomes your culture.

If we want our players to be strong, brave, and tenacious—
We better lead that way.

That means facing the tough conversations.
It means being open to solutions that come from within.

Some coaches think parents are the problem.
Sometimes, they are. But let’s be honest—
Without parents, there is no team.

Why not open the door for communication?

You’d be ignoring the people who know your players best—
The ones who see their behavior patterns, emotional triggers, and growth moments before we do.

Use that.
It’s not weakness—it’s wisdom.
And it makes your culture stronger when you understand your players from every angle.

Page 3: Key Takeaways – What Coaches, Players, and Parents Need to Know

• Conflict is normal. Lingering conflict is dangerous.

• Sarcasm, eye rolls, favoritism, and silence all count as conflict.

• Players notice who gets corrected—and who doesn’t.

• Parents watch for fairness, even when they don’t say it.

• Assistant coaches must be trusted and respected, or the whole system cracks.

• A team can't grow if it's walking on eggshells.

• Coaches must address problems early—or the team learns to live with them.

And when conflict becomes part of the culture?
You don’t have a team. You have a divided room.

Page 4: Real Life Moments – When Conflict Lingers

Playing Time & Trust
A returning player skips practice. Shows up late.
Still starts.

Meanwhile, a new kid shows up early every day. Works hard. Locked in.
Still sits.

The team sees it.
The parents see it.

And now nobody trusts what you’re building.

Development stalls.
Culture slips.
Because now it’s not about what you earn—it’s about who’s been around longer.

That sends a loud message:
“There are different rules for different players.”

Coaches—we think we’re making a call to win.
But if we cut corners on accountability, we’re actually losing everything that matters.

Winning comes from development, habits, and trust.
Enabling bad habits doesn’t just hurt one player—it hurts the whole team.

Assistant Coaches & Respect
It’s not just with players.

I’ve seen assistant coaches get shut out.
Not trusted to run drills.
Not asked for input.
Not allowed to disagree.

That’s lingering conflict too.
Because a great head coach is only as strong as the people around him.

If your assistants feel invisible, they’ll stop speaking up.
If players see that, they’ll model it—with each other.

Let your staff lead.
Let them challenge your thinking.
You don’t have to agree on everything—but you need to create space for it.

A strong coaching staff models what teamwork looks like.
And if we expect players to trust and respect one another,
they better see the adults doing it first.

Page 5: Parent / Coach Connection

Parents – When culture breaks down, it’s rarely about just one thing.
It’s what your kid feels.
The energy on the bench. The fairness in the gym.
The way conflict is either addressed—or avoided.

You’re watching more than the score.
You’re watching how people are treated.

Coaches – Culture doesn’t collapse in one game.
It fades every time we let things slide.
Every time we stay silent.
Every time we allow the wrong things to become normal.

And here’s the truth:
If you allow one player to be selfish, you’re coaching the whole team to be selfish.

You might think you’re just giving your best guy space.
But your team is learning by watching.

Then when you finally try to correct it—
Tell them “that’s not how we play”—
They’re confused.

Because the star player’s been doing it all year.
And you’ve been letting it happen.

At that point, you don’t just have a player problem.
You have a trust problem.

And let’s be clear—
Not every player is the same.
Some guys are built to create.
Some are still developing.

There will be moments where one player isolates—
Not because of ego, but because it’s what the team needs.
That’s not the issue.

The issue is when a coach gets visibly frustrated when one player misses—
But says nothing when the favorite does the same.

That’s not coaching. That’s confusion.

The best shooters are the relaxed ones.
The confident ones.
But how can they be confident if they feel judged after every miss?

Coaches—we can’t ask for freedom on offense
Then snatch it away with our body language.

Consistency creates confidence.
And confidence grows when everyone knows what’s expected—
No matter their role.

Page 6: Next Play Reminder

This isn’t about calling people out—it’s about calling the team back together.

Don’t let eye rolls slide.
Don’t ignore favoritism.
Don’t assume it’ll fix itself.

Clean it up.
Own it.
Address it before it becomes the culture.

Because once trust is gone, so is the team.

Next Issue Preview:

We’ve talked about what breaks culture.
Now we’ll talk about how to pull it all together.
Issue #5: The Culture Checkpoint
How to recognize when your team is healthy—and when it’s just holding on.

If this hit home, send it to someone who lives in this world too.
Want the next issue straight to your phone? Text or reply: “add me.”

Until then…
Keep embracing the Next Play.
– Coach Jason Garcia
@garciabros248 | 210 Garcia Bros. LLC