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Im now the eSports coach at our high school!

APerfectOrganism

APerfectOrganism

Sky Van Gogh
Member
Dec 23, 2018
1,313
Washington State
Hey everyone!

I was informed early this school year that our state (WA) was looking into a statewide eSports program and that they wanted me on board as I currently run our Video Game Club.

Just got notified I am officially the head coach and im pretty stoked! Just felt like sharing. It's going to be such an excellent program to have at the secondary level.

Gonna have to brush up my competitive gaming and start reading coaches resources. Any advice? I have never been into eSports but obviously im huge into games. I know I'll get started actually playing the games we plan on using.

Still - wanted to share the excitement and reach out for advice.
 
Xeonidus

Xeonidus

“Fuck them kids.”
Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,271
Nice! I was hoping to start a program at our school through PlayVS since they just expanded into Canada. Newborn and a toddler stopped me though. I took 5 weeks off after the end of summer to help st home with. Maybe next year! Let me know how it goes!
 
Strings

Strings

Member
Oct 27, 2017
31,384
giphy.gif
 
Lil Peanut Brotha

Lil Peanut Brotha

Motion Graphics Artist at Riot Games
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
670
CA, USA
Congrats, that's awesome! The first step of trying out the games that the students want to play is definitely great, since each one is a like a different universe haha. As others said, there's a million VODs of pro matches and maybe finding someone that casts while explaining stuff would help. I would recommend putting high importance on the teamwork aspect of things, playing seriously but respectfully, self improvement, balance with school stuff, etc. too though.

PS: I don't know if all the kids are privileged enough to have access to the hardware and games, but finding resources for them to play and practice might also be a good idea too.
 
backpropaganda

backpropaganda

Member
Dec 13, 2018
1,521
Doesn't league of legions have college scholarships ? I'd go with that just out of potential benefit to the kids.

also congrats fellow Washington person!

Also, esports steams are a joy, just start watching VODs each games biggest tournament of the year. You'll no doubt get hooked cheering for some team.
 
Deimos

Deimos

Member
Oct 25, 2017
5,767
Remember to teach the difference between acceptable and unacceptable trash talk.
 
OP
OP
APerfectOrganism

APerfectOrganism

Sky Van Gogh
Member
Dec 23, 2018
1,313
Washington State
Natels

Natels

Member
Oct 26, 2017
860
Congrats. It seems super cool. And Rocket League is awesome.

I have like 4000h between PS4 and PC and I've been Grand Champion since season 3 so if you need help with something game specific feel free to ask

Good luck!
 
Firestorm

Firestorm

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,708
Vancouver, BC
Tip #1 is it's "esports" and not "eSports" ;) Use it like a regular word. Esports at the beginning of a sentence and esports in the middle.

Take a look at https://www.playvs.com/ which was founded by some people who know the high school space inside and out. I used to work with some of them closely when they ran High School Starleague and they're good people.
 
OP
OP
APerfectOrganism

APerfectOrganism

Sky Van Gogh
Member
Dec 23, 2018
1,313
Washington State
Firestorm said:
Tip #1 is it's "esports" and not "eSports" ;) Use it like a regular word. Esports at the beginning of a sentence and esports in the middle.

Take a look at https://www.playvs.com/ which was founded by some people who know the high school space inside and out. I used to work with some of them closely when they ran High School Starleague and they're good people.
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SomeOneInaHat

SomeOneInaHat

Member
Nov 9, 2017
862
I do not know if this is helpful or not, but game-analysis is a huge part of the job. From the few coaches, I watch on YouTube, watching recordings of matches can provide some good details into how things went very right or sourly poor. If it isn't that in-depth, play the game your players are playing. You getting better at their game can help you understand the minutia of said game.

"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires."
—William Arthur Ward

I also agree with everyone bringing up teamwork, respectfulness, and approaching the sport with a positive life/work balance. Important stuff.
 

BeepBoop

Member
Nov 24, 2019
317
backpropaganda said:
Doesn't league of legions have college scholarships ? I'd go with that just out of potential benefit to the kids.

also congrats fellow Washington person!

Also, esports steams are a joy, just start watching VODs each games biggest tournament of the year. You'll no doubt get hooked cheering for some team.
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Would 2nd this with looking at the esports games that can continue onto things like collegiate teams, including potential scholarships and such, if you get to pick the esports game anyway

www.ncsasports.org

NCSA - Get Recruited. Play College Sports. | NCSAsports.org

NCSA is the leader in college sports recruiting. Built to help student-athletes get recruited & college coaches find recruits. Sign up now for free!
www.ncsasports.org www.ncsasports.org

idk how legit they are, but they do seem to have a list of games that offer some kind of scholarship programs, seems to be quite a few choices, and like at least 3/4 of those can be/are Team based
 
Suicidalswan

Suicidalswan

Member
Oct 27, 2017
9
congratulations. I coach my high school's esports team in texas for the last year in League of Legends. It's been fun the whole time. we are looking to expand this year with Overwatch. Good luck out there.
 
Aureon

Aureon

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,819
APerfectOrganism said:
"There are no two words more harmful in the english language than, 'Good job'."

That's actually a semi-decent and reusable one lol.
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That's terrible advice, though.


Basically, players play better or worse depending on lots of factors. Over time, though, they tend to smooth out a bit - if you played abnormally well, the next game you'll play, on average, an average game - and that will look like you got worse

On the other hand, if you played abnormally badly, the next game will likely see an improvement.

Coaches in all disciplines have observed this, but often associate it with the fact that they berate players when they underperform, and praise them when they overperform: As such, by pure statistical coincidence, it often looks like the praise is causing a decline and the berating is causing an improvement.

However, that's actually wrong, and positive reinforcement is generally stronger than negative.


www.spectator.co.uk

He knew he was wrong — Daniel Kahneman interview

When I was 13, my school cricket team received a visit from a top professional cricket coach, an intoxicating visit from the big leagues. I tried to hear what the great man was saying as he watched us, how he advised our teacher. ‘Never praise kids — they only mess it up next time,’ I
www.spectator.co.uk www.spectator.co.uk
 
Alek

Alek

Games User Researcher
Verified
Oct 28, 2017
8,467
In terms of advice I think a lot of what separates great from pro players is their ability to recognize errors and keep going. I consider myself pretty good at competitive games but I don't have the motivation to reflect and keep pushing myself forward. I can usually get into the top 0.1% in ranked on games like Apex, but the push to the top 0.01% that pro players sit inside is actually much larger than it seems when you lay it out numerically. I think a big feature that separates out those players is their ability to quickly recognise what went wrong and how it could have been played differently. In psychology it's part explained by the concept of locus of control, perhaps that's worth reading into.

The other huge thing I would say is that as a coach you should emphasize healthy work/life balance and positive mental health. Even as someone that's never aspired to be a pro player, I've struggled with the amount of time I spend on games trying to get better, due to the impact that all that time had on my mental health. I think a good coach would have a good understanding of mental health and how good mental health is important for players both inside and outside of the game (if you want players to perform well in the long-term good mental health will improve their cognition and attitude, as well as helping to prevent them from burning out).
 
OP
OP
APerfectOrganism

APerfectOrganism

Sky Van Gogh
Member
Dec 23, 2018
1,313
Washington State
Aureon said:
That's terrible advice, though.


Basically, players play better or worse depending on lots of factors. Over time, though, they tend to smooth out a bit - if you played abnormally well, the next game you'll play, on average, an average game - and that will look like you got worse

On the other hand, if you played abnormally badly, the next game will likely see an improvement.

Coaches in all disciplines have observed this, but often associate it with the fact that they berate players when they underperform, and praise them when they overperform: As such, by pure statistical coincidence, it often looks like the praise is causing a decline and the berating is causing an improvement.

However, that's actually wrong, and positive reinforcement is generally stronger than negative.


www.spectator.co.uk

He knew he was wrong — Daniel Kahneman interview

When I was 13, my school cricket team received a visit from a top professional cricket coach, an intoxicating visit from the big leagues. I tried to hear what the great man was saying as he watched us, how he advised our teacher. ‘Never praise kids — they only mess it up next time,’ I
www.spectator.co.uk www.spectator.co.uk
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Oh I know man. As a teacher, there are lots of similarities. But the problem with "good job" is it's generic and non-targeted praise. It's superficial.

When I grade - I never say "good job". I give targeted praise such as "I liked how you explained your thinking and connected ___ to ___."

Don't worry, im not bout to berate adolescents over esports (or any sport) I had enough of that shit when I was growing up. Not to mention - you can't really do that in more responsible school districts anymore.

I've been a teacher for a several years now and played sports my whole life. More what I was looking for advice on was esports related stuff.
 
Aureon

Aureon

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,819
APerfectOrganism said:
Oh I know man. As a teacher, there are lots of similarities. But the problem with "good job" is it's generic and non-targeted praise. It's superficial.

When I grade - I never say "good job". I give targeted praise such as "I liked how you explained your thinking and connected ___ to ___."

Don't worry, im not bout to berate adolescents over esports (or any sport) I had enough of that shit when I was growing up. Not to mention - you can't really do that in more responsible school districts anymore.

I've been a teacher for a several years now and played sports my whole life. More what I was looking for advice on was esports related stuff.
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Click to shrink...
Good!
just making sure, because you'll hear even big-time coaches being against praise often :)
 
OP
OP
APerfectOrganism

APerfectOrganism

Sky Van Gogh
Member
Dec 23, 2018
1,313
Washington State
Aureon said:
Good!
just making sure, because you'll hear even big-time coaches being against praise often :)
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I don't blame you! It's a serious issue through and through. Nothing bothers me more then when educators in positions of power belittle and berate those they're supposedly working with.

My main goal as an esports coach will be team building, interpersonal skills development, and discipline. I know most of the kids who will likely be involved thanks to running our gaming club, and while they are enthusiastic (which is great!), They will definitely benefit from focused development in those areas.
 
The_R3medy

The_R3medy

Member
Jan 22, 2018
2,840
Wisconsin
Congrats mate! Just make sure the kids remember to have fun. Best thing that can come of these sorts of teams is to grow friendships that last them a lifetime.
 
HardRojo

HardRojo

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
26,100
Peru
OP gonna be in for a surprise when they find out the game they'll be competing in is Battleborn.
 
Brainfreeze

Brainfreeze

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,686
New Jersey
Congrats! I would have loved having something like this in school (well, unless it was a MOBA... which it probably would have been).

As someone who plays a lot of competitive games, my main advice would be to make sure you are recording your games somehow so that the team can go back and analyze their play. I think this is the fastest way to improve. Your flaws often become instantly recognizable when watching your play from another perspective, and theorycrafting explicit gameplans to work around them gives you short term goals to keep you motivated. A lot of kids won't be used to thinking of games as a more abstract set of mechanics, so it may take a little while, but I think it's the best investment you can make for long term success.

Other than that, focus on teamwork (if applicable), and have fun! Good luck!
 
backpropaganda

backpropaganda

Member
Dec 13, 2018
1,521
I almost forgot, if you want to get those kids hyped up as fuck show them the excellent true sight series from valve:

youtu.be

True Sight : The International 2018 Finals

TRUE SIGHT is a documentary series that takes you behind the scenes of the journeys of professional Dota 2 teams. This episode follows PSG.LGD and OG through...
youtu.be youtu.be

Best yearly esports content around

youtu.be

True Sight : The Kiev Major Grand Finals

TRUE SIGHT is a documentary series that takes you behind the scenes of the journeys of professional Dota 2 teams. This episode follows OG and Virtus.pro thro...
youtu.be youtu.be
 
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