Alan Stein Jr. discovered the "Next Play" concept in Coach K's 2000s book but didn't use it until working under Coach Mike Jones at DeMatha Catholic High School fifteen years later. Seeing it applied daily, on and off the court, convinced him of its power for leadership and teams.
So, the first time I heard the concept Next Play was when I read Coach K's first book, Leading with the Heart. And I read that in the very early 2000s. And I remember reading it, and that, that was one of the most influential books that I've ever read. It really shifted my perspective on leadership and building teams and core values. And even though I understood the concept and it made sense, I was a little slow to start applying it. It probably took close to 15 years later when I was working at DeMatha Catholic High School for a coach named Mike Jones, who was implementing Next Play in everything that that he did on and off the court with the players and staff at DeMatha. So it wasn't until I actually got to see it put into practice all of the time that it really started to resonate strongly. And then I started to use it in my life. And you know, even to this day, when I'm giving a keynote, the concept of next play tends to be one of the stickiest things that I share. It's one of the most often brought up when I'm meeting with attendees after I speak, is they're talking about how that can be a really helpful tool or helpful framework for what they do.
