What is Esports Coaching? A Qualitative Examination of the Experiences of Professional League of Legends Coaches

The popularity of electronic sports (esports) has increased exponentially over the last ten years and a thriving professional level with high-profile players, coaches and support staff now exists (Pedraza-Ramirez, Musculus, Raab & Laborde, 2020). Despite this extraordinary growth and proliferation of publications in areas such as player performance (Poulus et al., 2020) and sport psychology (Watson, Abbott, & Pedraza-Ramirez, 2021), the scientific research underpinning the practice of esports coaching is lagging significantly behind (Wagner, 2006; Pedraza-Ramirez et al., 2020). This is perhaps surprising given that the coach represents an influential figure in terms of athletes’ well-being, motivation and optimal functioning (Adie, Duda, & Ntoumanis, 2012). Equally, as esports is a distinct domain with digital and global roots (Scholz, Völkel, & Uebach, 2021), the practice of coaching in esports may need to be examined on its own merit from the bottom up. In line with this, the current qualitative study used semi-structured interviews to examine the behaviours and experiences of 14 head coaches (18-29 years old, mean experience = 3.32±2.09 years) in professional League of Legends teams (all competing in the third tier of League competition or higher). All interviews took place online, within five weeks of each other and following the cessation of a competitive split (season). At the time of writing, interview transcripts are being analysed using an inductive thematic approach (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Initial results suggest that professional, interpersonal and intrapersonal knowledge and skills are important to coaches, although significant diversity exists both between and within coaches’ practices. The results of the study will be presented with a view to providing initial insights into the question of ‘what is esports coaching?’. Implications for coaching practice, coach education and further research will additionally be discussed.