Responsibilities of a coach

Coaching responsibilities vary depending on the institution or the coaching role. However, the following are the foundations for coaching responsibilities.

• Maintaining the physical and mental health of players.
• Team cohesion.
• Training schedule.
• Game study and strategy creation.
• VOD review and data analysis.

The following are some of the shared responsibilities between coaches.

• Draft strong strategies that play to the team’s strengths.
• Build team communication skills outside during games.
• Build a winner’s mentality through various motivational tactics.
• Ensure players are prepared when travelling. Help build a sense of responsibility for their gear.
• Coordinate scrims for the teams to provide more practising opportunities.
• Work with the managers to determine specific competitions to be involved in.
• Work with the team analyst/s (if there is one) to look at the team’s play-by-play, specific game stats and determine critical flaws of the team.

Watch: What to know about coaching eSports | How to Coach eSports  | eSports Coaching Tips Time: (8:47 mins)

A team with the 'right' culture directly correlates with the team's success. Success doesn't just mean winning the game — success can be 'everybody touching the ball in each game' or 'having more possession time.' Success is defined while setting the team's culture.

Culture is how the team behaves on and off the sports field/esports arena. This behaviour reflects the team's values.

Knowledge Check Activity

Factors that can define a thriving team culture

Inclusiveness is essential for players and coaches to feel welcomed as a team and sometimes as a family. eSports can be incredibly inclusive, although the balance of men to women in eSports roles in all areas of the industry is something that many say still needs work. Coaches can play an essential role in ensuring inclusivity.

The following are examples of factors defining a thriving team culture.

• Coaches set the culture from the start — they are deliberate about what the team looks and sounds like.
• Coaches define the team's values and behaviours, which match the team's goal.
• Team captain to help set the standard for the players of the entire team.
• The team (including staff) have an attitude that makes each person accountable, honest, resilient, and team focused.
• Poor behaviour is dealt with effectivity. They are giving each person the time to reflect and re-align their values.
• Highest performance standards and expected every day. No ifs, buts, or maybes.

When promoting and implementing inclusivity, the coach must role model and set the foundations very early on. The team should know their expectations and how the coach plans to promote inclusive practice. Remember, however, that while implementing lies with the coach, the entire team has responsibilities for upholding an inclusive approach.

The following are examples of maintaining inclusivity within the team.

• Treat everybody equally regardless of any differences.
• Respect the development stage and goals of each athlete.
• Provide equal attention and opportunities for all athletes.
• Ensure the environment is safe for all athletes during team training and competition.
• Equipment and facilities should meet safety standards.
• Show concern and caution towards athletes who appear injured during training or competition.
• Maintain interest towards all athletes regardless of injury status.
• Do not abuse the athletes in any form (verbally, physically, or sexually).
• Do not discriminate against any athletes regardless of any differences, for example, sex, religion, or sexual orientation.
• Physical contact is only appropriate with athletes during the development of athlete skills.

A relationship should be more than a coach teaching their athlete a physical skill. A coach should always have the best interest for the athlete in all aspects in life. Allowing athletes to trust in their coach can help bring out the maximum potential an athlete has.

To establish a positive relationship with the athletes, a coach must consider the following.

• Be open with your athletes about the coach/player relationship.
• Display loyalty to your athletes.
• Follow through with your promises and be reliable.
• Develop individual plans for each personal goal.
• Help athletes commit to team goals.
• Work together and allow yourself and your athletes to talk to each other freely.
• Create a friendly and supportive environment.
• Clarify boundaries and explain what is expected of the team.

It may look different from a spectator and player perspective. Traditional sports are more physically demanding and usually include some form of ball or special equipment. At the same time, eSports is 'electronic sports', and players/athletes typically play on a PC or console, which is generally less physically demanding.

From a coaching perspective, both are similar. The goal is to build your athlete's skillset to compete at their highest level, whether competing during the pool stages or the grand finals.

In school or pro teams with only one eSports head coach, the coach usually has the hard job of coaching multiple teams from various games. Including:

• Dota (5 per team)
• LoL (5 per team)
• Valorant (5 per team)
• Smash Brothers (1+).

Click the following headings to learn the differences between traditional and eSports coaching.

Imagine being a coach trying to spend equal time and effort on all your eSports athletes, optimising their gameplay, analysing games, scheduling their training and nutrition. It is a lot of work for one person, which is why (when the resources are available) teams and schools will hire multiple people for these roles.

There are plenty of coaching styles coaches use to help develop and improve the skillset of their athletes. Different methods are affected by various variables—for example, learning styles or sport/game type.

Democratic coaching

Democratic coaching allows all athletes to voice their opinion while strategising and game planning for future games increases the team culture between athletes. This method will enable athletes and players to think creatively, finding unique solutions to problems the team is facing. Ultimately, the decisions are solely up to the coach, allowing the unit to be part of the decision-making.

Autocratic coaching

In the hands of a competent coach, autocratic coaching can set the team up for success but can negatively affect the team environment. This coaching style is very authoritarian and demanding on the team and athletes. This style might be off-putting to a few athletes as it comes off as bossy and controlling. Coaches who fit into style need to have a high knowledge and understanding, which allows the athletes to have complete trust and faith in all the coaches' decisions during training and game day.

Laissez-Faire coaching

This coaching method allows the player to take the lead in training, set goals and define what success looks like at the end of the training day. This coaching method relies on the coach having faith in the athletes keeping themselves accountable. This, however, does not mean the coach sits back and relaxes for the entire training session. The coach is still responsible for the team's success, but this gives the athletes a chance to become self-motivated and gives a small taste of what it is like to be in the 'coach's shoes.' This is the riskiest method out of the three but can reap the most reward regarding the team culture. If the athletes are highly motivated, strong-willed and willing to learn, this is the method for them.

Coaching styles matched with a well-thought-out coaching strategy can make a training session worth all the sweat and tears that come along with the training. There are plenty of coaching strategies that work for all types of learners. Let's go through a few (these examples will use references from various sports and eSports).

Inquiry-based learning

This method builds communication and research development between the coach and players. The athlete can research and communicate with internal and external experts to find real-world solutions.

Direct instruction

The direct method is the most common. The coach gives direction and immediate guidance to the athlete. This allows involvement for the athlete as they follow the instructions of what the coach suggests.

Team member mentoring

Team member mentoring only excels when a range of experience exists within the team. Experience is not only measured by how long an athlete has played. It also incorporates how skilful an athlete is in the craft. This strategy can give players a sense of pride and ownership as they build mentoring skills to help their peers.

In MOBA team-based games, players usually have different roles based on their knowledge and skill level. The coach may not be the best option if a team member wants to learn a new position. Instead, they may learn from the already skilful player. This lets the player learn basic, intermediate, and advanced techniques quickly.

Athlete as coach

To be a teacher means you understand the material to a high degree. Athletes can show their degree of understanding by stepping into the shoes of a coach for a time. This is more than teaching the team new techniques. This opportunity allows them to deliver a meaningful experience by planning a training session and finding and applying a coaching method of their choice. This is an excellent fit for the team captain to further build rapport with their team members and gain leadership skills from the coaching perspective. This is a perfect gateway for an athlete interested in the education side of sports and esports.

Whole practice

As a coach, you explain the skill without any breakdown. For example, you are describing how to peek around corners in FPS games. You could explain the different types of peaking (for instance, jiggle, shoulder, short) while explaining how to conceal your position, crosshair position, and other aspects. Whole Practice allows the coach to explain the technique fully and enable the learner to gain the entire experience and 'learn for themselves' what the process feels like.

Whole part whole practice

The whole part whole practice method is when a coach observes the full skill set before identifying areas to improve.

This coaching strategy allows the athletes to play or practice their skills for a portion, with the coach observing and identifying areas to improve. One example is in Muay Thai (fitness class), coaches watch athletes strike pads and sparing partners. This allows the coach to instantly pick up and identify their athletes' mistakes, such as incorrectly pivoting the back foot or incorrectly blocking.

Another example is live coaching for First Person Shooters. A coach will observe a round to identify small mistakes the player is making after the game is complete. Regardless of the outcome, they tend to explain what when well and what needs improvement.

Part practice is when a sports coach breaks down a skill and coaches/teaches a separate part of this skill before bringing the whole talent back together. As a coach, you could break down each step individually, gradually allowing the athlete to improve. As the athlete builds the foundation and understanding of each stage, they gain confidence to achieve the action.

Knowledge Check Activity

Charlie plays Super Smash Brothers Ultimate. He competes in local tournaments in Wellington, New Zealand. His coach has noticed his defensive play is what gets him in the most trouble during tournaments – Charlie’s coach has asked him to do some inquiry-based learning.
Assume the role of Charlie, and answer the following questions.

Communication is a vital resource for teams and everyday life. A coach will always aim for player excellency inside a game and a sense of belonging to the team outside of a game. To achieve this, a coach needs to lead with the highest levels of example.

When communicating with players, consider the following.

Be aware of the context

Good coaches should be able to accurately understand their players' social dynamics, atmosphere, and mood. They have developed a skill to pay attention to non-verbal cues such as body language, facial expressions, and tone of voice. It is understanding the situation you are getting into.

The following video, bought to you by the popular sitcom 'Friends' demonstrates each character using non-verbal communication in various contexts and how the receiver interprets them. As you watch the video, note how important this form of communication is.

Watch: The importance of nonverbal cues as told by "Friends" (4.32 minutes)

Think before you speak

It would be best to always think about what you are saying before you say it. As a coach, you should be tuned with what your players are experiencing, and their feelings will likely be heightened under various circumstances. You do not want to appear insensitive because you have commented without thinking.

Build an environment of trust

Coaching involves building a circle of trust within the team. It is integral that you avoid pointing fingers at individual players for mistakes. Everything must happen within the team. This includes mistakes. Address the mistake as a whole without naming and shaming those responsible. When you have to correct a player/s, do it privately and congratulate the team in public.

Focus on a solution, not a problem

This is known as constructive criticism. The main difference between criticsim and constructive criticism is that the second focuses on the problem's solution. It is identifying a problem and giving possible options to fix it.

Be objective and punctual

Do not allow your sentiments to interfere with your judgement, and tackle the main problem with a punctual solution.

Be assertive

Make people comfortable with what you are saying. Be calm, empathetic and an agent for motivation and growth.