IN the early 2010s, there was no real term to describe competitive gaming until the term Esports came along and a new industry was born. In recent years the growth of Esports have been exponential, from the viewership and fans of the game to the players representing Malaysia on the global stage.
Taking into consideration the PUBG Mobile Professional League MY/SG Season 1 which was held in March 2020, it boasted a peak viewership of about 76,000. Fast forward to the recent PUBG Mobile Professional League MY/SG Season 3 which was held around the same time this year, it garnered a peak viewership of about 306,000. Almost a 4-fold growth in a span of one year is arguably one of the biggest leaps in Malaysian Esports growth since it’s recognition.
Coaching in Esports
The growth of the number of fans meant that Esport players also needed to grow as well. Over the past year, we have seen the engagement of more coaches by Esports organisations than when they first started. Their role is to essentially provide technical backup in game guidance to the team. Now some organisations see coaching as not only for technical guidance, but also life guidance as if there are outside disturbances it will eventually affect your performance as well.
Esports and Regular Sports Athletes
Though Esports athletes needs may differ from sports athletes, they have elements that make them successful. When it comes to physical preparation, trainings also include exercising. As a healthy body leads to a healthy mind, this is something often overlooked as Esports athletes normally sit down a lot during trainings. This also means that knowing the right physical posture is important for long term well-being such as having eye level monitors and holding the phone up rather than staring at it downward.
Processed food with artificial ingredients, food with high fat content, sugar and sodium are types that are advised by experts to be avoided as they don’t give the right nutrients to the body and brain. Instead, it is recommended to take more full grains, fruits, vegetables and drink more water so that reflexes remain sharp.
Mental well being is also vital for Esports. Among the first few Esports organisations in Malaysia that work with a psychologist are Battle Arena Elites (BAE) and EVOS VIP. Their psychologist is Bryan Win who also happens to be the sports psychologist for Selangor FC. It just shows the similarity in needs for both categories of sports.
This is just one of the other backroom staff requirement that has evolved over recent years. Some Esports organisations have adopted the use of an analyst to help coaches with the technical aspects of the game and even team managers are expected to be involved in more than team building aspects rather than just being administrative.
If most of the points above sound familiar, it is because we can see the need to blur the lines between Esports athletes and athletes of regular sports as the industry continues to evolve.
Who Should Drive These Initiatives?
Esports organisations are starting to invest in some of these areas. However, the biggest initiative should be taken by the athletes themselves. If we look at footballers, they have their own personal trainers and dietary routines outside their regular team trainings. This is important as self-realisation needs to take place before anything else. Further, players spend most of their time outside their team and organisations cannot monitor them round the clock.
This is summarised as placing the athlete's mindset and living life as one.
Generally, Esports athletes enter the professional scene at a very early age and most might not have the self-realisation of what sacrifices are needed. Hence, team managers, coaches and the organisations will need to play a part in educating them that they are no longer regular gamers, but competitive athletes.
The government, on its part, can support this healthy gaming industry by allocating funds through the Esports Development budget to run educational campaigns and providing relevant training to backroom staff of the industry.
This means that the entire system will need to function as one - the management to support the athletes, the government to support this as a national initiative to the athletes being discipline enough to improve themselves.
At the end of the day, it's not about the growth of individuals, but also that of the local Esports industry which will allow us to compete better on the world stage and bring glory to Malaysia, which is lacking now. - The Vibes. June 17, 2021
