The return of Esports at Humber College has brought a difficult challenge for staff as they look for the perfect candidates for head coach positions for their teams.
Currently, the Valorant, Super Smash Bros Ultimate, and League of Legends teams are without a coach, and Esports staff hope to fill these roles quickly.
Esports players are practicing strategy and quick thinking skills in League of Legends to make the best choices in the middle of a match. Photo credit: Luca Furlano
Esports staff have found this to be somewhat of a difficult task despite the positions being posted on X and Discord.
“It’s been a little bit more challenging than I thought actually,” Humber College Esports Senior Administrator Bernard Mafei said.
“I put out a call and honestly I didn’t get as much interest as I would have liked,” he said. “But I think that’s because coaching is a hard job. It’s not just playing games. You have to be a leader to other human beings and not just in the game, but out of the game as well.”
One of the main factors for the Esports staff team to consider is what they are looking for in a varsity coach. They expect more than someone with gaming experience.
They expect them to be a positive encouragement for the team or teams they coach and to keep a consistent engagement while practicing for tryouts and leagues.
“I would say it’s not just about being good at a game to me,” Mafei said. “It’s somebody that can inspire them to actually be the type of players that we want representing the culture.”
The staff team also wants dedicated coaching staff to help the varsity teams quickly perform their best in the drive to return to tournaments
Humber College Esports Club President Lanvy Nguyen said the players are excited as they return to competitive gaming in the collegiate leagues.
“Our expectations for coaches, we would like someone who is adaptive with our players that are future teams and who is fully committed to coaching our teams so they can get as far as they can in tournaments,” Nguyen said.
Most importantly, they want to see the new coaches show respect.
This is what separates a good coach from a great coach, it helps to keep a safe and positive environment for every team and shows a positive representation of Esports as a whole.
“From my perspective, there are many players who are very good at gaming, but some of the players may have ego issues,” said Sarvatra Rawat, the Humber College Esports Club vice president.
“A coach should be someone who can have the players in a confined space and have respect towards their team.,” Rawat said. “They should be reliable and accommodating to all the players who are playing.”
Mafei said to date more than 20 candidates for each team have applied and all seem strong, but there’s plenty to consider.
It’s expected varsity coaching will be picked in the next month.
“It could take probably about a month in total,” Mafei said. “So I would say we have some pretty strong candidates, so the quality is high, but the quantity is not assigned to one.”