Next Play Mentality Newsletter

NEXT PLAY MENTALITY – ISSUE #5

“The Blueprint”

By Coach Jason Garcia

@garciabros248 | 210 Garcia Bros. LLC

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Page 1: Culture Is Built in the Boring

Championship teams aren’t built on game day.

They’re built on Tuesday and Thursday.

On the nights where no one’s watching.

When there’s no crowd.

Just sweat, standards, teaching, and development.

If your players only lock in on weekends—

That’s not a team.

That’s a schedule.

You want to know if your team is real?

Check the energy at practice.

Check the conversations between players.

Check if your assistant coaches are teaching with confidence.

It’s not about what they do under the lights.

It’s what they do when the gym’s quiet, the drill is ordinary, and no one’s clapping.

That’s where real teams are made—when it’s just reps, reminders, and who’s locked in.

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Page 2: The Blueprint – What a Healthy Team Looks Like

“Practice doesn’t make perfect.

Perfect practice makes perfect.”

You can rep the same mistakes, the same bad habits, the same broken systems—

And still expect different results.

But problems don’t fix themselves.

They get replaced—by better habits.

And a healthy team?

It looks like this:

 • Practice is sharper than the game

 • Players communicate with each other to understand and grow

 • Assistant coaches lead with confidence

 • Losses don’t shake the group—they sharpen it

 • Parents are connected to the mission

And coaches?

You’ve got to do your homework too.

Watch film.

Scout with purpose.

Teach with details—not just drills.

We hear,

“Kids can’t focus for more than a minute.”

That’s lazy coaching.

And sure—aggression might win games when they’re young.

But as they get older, the game reveals what they actually know.

How they think.

How they adapt.

How they process failure.

That’s why it’s on us to teach the full game—

Not just effort.

Not just energy.

But what basketball really means.

Because most kids who rely only on aggression?

They fold the minute things stop going their way.

If you’re good, you’ll figure it out.

You’ll speak with intent.

You’ll bring energy they feed off.

You’ll teach with clarity and creativity.

You’ll demand more—because you see who they can become.

Because the goal isn’t just to run a clean practice.

The goal is to change what that practice produces.

“We are in pursuit of perfection—knowing we’ll never get there.

But we show up anyway.

To be better every practice, every rep, every opportunity.

And we do it together.”

This is the Blueprint.

Here’s how you bring it back:

 1. Reset the tone at practice—every rep counts.

 2. Stay consistent. Standards don’t take days off.

 3. Let your assistants lead. The message can’t just come from you.

 4. Communicate before chaos.

 5. Define who you are—even when you’re losing.

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Next Play Reminder:

Some teams chase moments.

But the ones who grow?

They stack days.

Day after day of focus.

Effort.

Teaching.

Correction.

Connection.

Because it’s not one great game that moves you forward—

It’s the days that nobody talks about.

And the teams who stack the most?

They stay ahead.

They keep rising.

They don’t fall apart when it matters.

That’s the Blueprint.

And here’s the best part:

You’re not the only one building this way.

Over the last few issues, I’ve heard from coaches, parents, and leaders who are seeing it too—

In their gyms.

In their homes.

In their teams.

So in Issue #6, we’ll highlight what you’ve been seeing—

Real feedback. Real growth.

Real stories from those doing the work.

Because the mission isn’t mine alone.

It’s ours now.

Until then, keep embracing the next play.

– Coach Jason Garcia

@garciabros248 | 210 Garcia Bros. LLC