A gaming coach sounds like an awful luxury for an eSports player, be it a budding or an already-competing pro. However, gamers still debate the perceived benefits of hiring a coach, with some considering it the "ultimate advantage." But what exactly is the real story?
gaming coach at work
eSports Pros Have Coaches-But Should You?
According to EAthlete Labs on YouTube, it's all about the concept of bias. A gaming coach will be able to provide external insight without any hint of bias. This is especially critical during the heat of the action when a team loses, and players tend to blame each other for the defeat.
Coaches can look past the bias and be able to provide constructive feedback on a player's gameplay. Aside from that, coaches will also have the ability to help players translate the feedback into actual, in-game strategies via drills and practice games.
Take it this way: even the greatest athletes to ever live had coaches. Do you think LeBron James or Michael Jordan reached their elite status without the guidance of their coaches? No, they won't. And that's a fact, as according to an article from Ohio University, you can have all the physical abilities required to make a good athlete-but you can never overlook the mental aspects of the competition.
ESports may not be as physical as a game like a basketball, but the competition is real, and it is absolutely fierce. Coaches can play the role of the steady, solid rock upon which an entire team's-not to mention an individual player's-mental toughness is anchored.
A Gaming Coach Can Help You Learn How To Completely Master A Game's Mechanics
ESports games can get extremely tactical-more so if you want an entire pro team to succeed. But the tactics all start with the individual players' skills at manipulating the game's mechanics to their advantage. This is where concepts like balancing good ability usage versus a good aim is critical.
Read also: 'Hogwarts Legacy' Is Also Coming To The Nintendo Switch
According to an ESports coach who goes by the name Lucavario (via Dignitas), focusing too much on either of these two concepts is bad. He mentions how he often sees this in "CS:GO" players playing "Valorant," as many of them will try to focus on their aim in a game where players have access to different, unique hero abilities.
In this Screenshot, the flash effects for "FLASH/DRIVE," one of KAY/O's abilities in Valorant, is disabled once a player enables the "Remove HUD" in their NVIDIA Freestyle feature.
Combining excellent ability usage with a good aim (good physical mechanics for games that aren't first-person shooters) is one of the most critical skills for an eSports athlete. You can surely practice this on your own, but the chances of plateauing are high because of your personal bias-something an ESports coach could look past, as previously mentioned.
Can't You Just Improve On Your Own?
Yes, you can. That was never a question, to begin with. However, it has the tendency to get you stuck on a plateau where your improvement slows to a halt. Some gamers might find that the same content taught them to master the basics (often YouTube gameplay videos) isn't as refreshing anymore.
One reason for plateauing is that there's not a lot of truly advanced learning you can get from self-teaching. But even if you do find advanced techniques, they can be hard to apply to a real game even with tons of practice because you don't fully understand the intricacies of their Xs and Os.
A gamer, member of the eSports outfit Team Vitality, plays video games in the training room on January 16, 2019 at a "Gaming House" in Berlin's western suburb Halensee. - Berlin, which is hosting the European championships of the world's most popular online video game "League of Legends" until the end of March.
With a coach, not only will you be able to apply these said advanced tactics in your gameplay, but you'll also be given direct, immediate feedback that you'll find hard to do with your own play. Let's face it: every competitive gamer worth their salt will always think they're the best, which prevents them from seeing what's going wrong with their current strategies.
Do You Need A Coach?
If you're fine with your current skill level and have no strong desire to improve further, you'll be fine without one. But if you really want to be the best of the best, hire an ESports coach. There are no two ways around it: think of having professional coaching as a "limit breaker" that will help you fully unlock your potential and make you the best ESports athlete you can be.
Related: Best 'League of Legends' Streamers 2022: Faker is Still One of Them! Other Gamers You Should Watch
Story posted on GameNGuide
Written by RJ Pierce
