Coaching Esports: A Model For Player Improvement
If you are thinking about being an esports coach and working with kids, I believe coaching experience from sports can translate very effectively into esports. First however you have to wrap your head around the idea that competitive gaming can teach players valuable skills. Chances are if you are thinking about esports coaching you already believe that, and if you’ve read this far you are at least willing to consider it.
So let’s see how you can do this. In my experience, the function of a coach at the individual level is to help a player to develop to their maximum potential. At the team level, their function is to balance the strengths and weaknesses of the players so that the strengths are magnified, and the weaknesses are irrelevant. In this article I’m going to focus on individual coaching.
For me, the ultimate success a coach can achieve is to help a player perform their best under pressure. I called this Competitive Excellence. Legendary UCLA Basketball Coach John Wooden called it Competitive Greatness and he defined it as:
Being your best when your best is most needed.
So how can we, as coaches, help players achieve this with video games? In my experience it takes technique, time, and training. It will not happen overnight, however seeing a player achieve their potential is one of the most rewarding experiences I have ever had on the field, or in the arena. Before we go any further however I want to make a clear definition. The word competitive is a loaded word. I might say, “competitive excellence” and you might hear, “someone who is really good at being a jerk.” That is not at all what I mean.
When I say competitive I:
- Do mean: someone who brings their best to a challenge and is process focused. They define themselves by the effort their bring, and the things they control.
- Do not mean: Someone who must win at all costs and is so deathly afraid of losing they avoid all serious challenges and ruin the enjoyment of the competition for everyone participating and watching.
With that clarification in mind, let’s take a look at how we can help esport athletes develop competitive excellence.
When I coached, I used the four-letter acronym L.A.M.B. which stood for:
- Look
- Aim
- Move
- Believe
It is based off something my father used to call the, “Dumb Luck Theory” of travel. For him travel was about a journey. If you did it right, you went to new places, discovered new things, and became someone new. Travel was transformational for him. It also captures the idea that is the journey, not the destination that is so important in life. I like that metaphor, but in practical terms this is how it applies to coaching.
- Looking: You stay alert and awake. Pay attention and be open to discovery.
- Aim: You set intention. Be deliberate.
- Move: Nothing happens standing still. Put the car in gear. Take action.
- Believe: Finally, you trust that what you want is possible. (and it might be better than you imagine)
Here’s how you can use that framework as a coach.