esports psychology

We are back bigger than ever with an exciting season of Mindclickers. We have some super special guests back in the spotlight, which I am super keen to share and provide some insights from some of the best individuals within Esports.

In the following episode I sat down with previous Renegades Partnerships Manager for OCE/APAC Carti, who is now working within the AI Sports tracking field, with a passion to get back into Esports.

Nick shares some key insights towards partnerships and the bridge that needs to be closed between traditional sports and Esports, in terms of coming together collectively.

Follow him over at Twitter on https://twitter.com/nicholascarti

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Mindclickers is an insight into the psychological and performance demands of Professional Esports Personalities.

Imagine if you could hear what a Physiotherapist recommends for best practice about ergonomics or stretches. Thinking of adding exercises into your routine? I wonder what an elite-level Strength & Conditioning Coach would recommend. How about figuring out Nutrition? We've got Registered Dietitians and Performance Nutritionists to cover that too!

But it doesn't stop there.. Ever wondered what top-level professional players think about before, during, or after a game? How they relax, deal with anxiety, adopt the flow state, communicate effectively and perform? We provide exclusive insights into the mind of top-level players so that you can add to your game!

Not only that, but have you been interested in starting your own path in Esports, but not sure where to look? We have episodes with Esports organisation owners, who share their stories about their path, and how they found success in an ever-developing scene.

Episode 10!! Absolutely loved sitting down and talking with Nick about all elements of his coaching career, alongside his take on the upcoming Spring Major and RLCS World Championship.

Follow Nick on his main socials at https://twitter.com/NickOnRL.


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Season 3 Episode 7!!

In this episode, I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with coach and content creator Hoodyhooo to explore his background whilst providing educational insights on his own experience coaching.

The topics discussed in the following episode are as such;

• College life and deciding on goals
• Developing experience as a coach
• Understanding coaching styles
• Idea exposure
• Understanding delivery styles
• Creating positive environments
• Dealing with setbacks
• Placebo - Why and When?
• Power of replay analysis
• Performance anxiety
• The ultimate guide to streaming

Hoodyhooo can be found at the following links;

Twitter
Youtube
Twitch 

Episode 5!!

In the following episode, I had the pleasure to sit down with Benjamin Portheault, a Performance coach for mental athletes, specializing in chess. Benjamin shared his experiences within the coaching field, alongside how this translates for Esports athletes.

The following episode includes;

• Chess background - Entry into the scene
• Data science passion
• Intimidation in chess - Mental tactics for success
• Online chess vs Offline chess
• Mental fatigue on long games
• Queen's gambit + content creation
• Calories?!
• Physiological variables impacts
• Focusing on the present 
• Replay analysis importance
• Finite vs infinite game

Looking to get into Esports? Do not miss this episode!

In the following episode, I had the pleasure of sitting down with Amy Palmer, president of the Misfits Agency and CEO of PowerwomanTV.  Amy provides a lot of knowledge for those looking to enter Esports and how to develop and build your brand, a big thing that many people fail to do.

Topics covered in this episode;

• Marketing yourself as a professional
• Crossover for traditional sports and Esports
• Importance of traditional sporting organizations to adopt Esports
• Connecting and building rapport with your key target audiences
• DNA to be liked
• Development of partnerships
• Mental toughness to push content
• GenZ takeover is inevitable and coming fast
• FaZe CCO insight
• Final words

S2:E19 of Mindclickers arrives with ApparentlyJack from Dignitas.

Jack's passion is very obvious as he speaks in-depth about his mindset towards professional Rocket League.

The following episode contains detailed insights into;

 • Jacks background and entry into Rocket League
 • Dealing with the balance of school
 • Adapting to pre warmups
 • Sleep, Hydration, Exercise & Nutrition
 • Importance of quality coms
 • Developing team synergy
 • Rocket League ranked mindset
 • Developing skills in 1v1's
 • Importance of replay analysis
 • Dealing with toxicity
 • Marketing yourself as a player
 • Closing words

Ian's passion for Halo is some of the best that we've heard, as we chat about the history of Halo as an Esport and how it progressed to be one of the most popular games.  Ian has had his fair share of experiences within the Esports scene, especially as a player and coach where he adopted a holistic mindset towards his player's performance

Topics covered in the following episode;

• Halo origin and competitive days
• Importance of maintaining gameplay to life balance
• Impact of unhealthy eating habits upon performance
• Insight into coaching and tournament organization days
• The United States Marine Corps involvement within Esports
• Development of Esports regions
• The future of Halo Infinite
• Final words and advice

Kaplan's insights and passion for competitive Esports really shine through, as we explore a few varying topics that are being talked about within the scene. Kaplan has completed a Bachelor of Psychology at the University of Washington.

In the following episode we chat about;

• Building a team culture and exploring team dynamics
• Balancing study and work as a professional player
• Competitive comparison of Valorant vs CS:GO
• Insight into Valorant roles and key meta
• Impact on player personality onto their ingame role/character
• Importance of understanding player self-confidence
• Versatility as a Coach
• Coaching styles (Authoritarian vs Democratic)

Casey Thomas is an Elite Performance Dietitian, who does private practice work, and works with the University of Los Angeles (UCLA).  Casey also wrote a thesis looking at energy drinks and their cognitive effect on elite-level league of legends players. 

Visit Casey's nutrition website here -> https://gamerdiet.gg/

In the following episode, we discuss

• Working with high-level athletes
• The transitional process from traditional sport to Esports
• Esports nutrition -> What this means and how we can introduce it for players
• Regulation surrounding nutrition for youth
• Supplementation and its benefits
• Caffeine protocol
• L-Theanine
• Adderall
• Intermittent fasting
• Keto diet

Zack's experience within the League of Legends scene is expansive and it shows as he speaks about his experiences shoutcasting, coaching and playing. Zack and I sit down to chat about the following topics

• Playing for Sequential, Mindfreak, Eviscerate, AGA, LGC
• Time as coach for Avant
• OCE Scene - Rivalry in international space
• Mental toughness and tilting in game 
• Cognitive fatigue
• Team dynamics
• League of legends game periodisation
• Exercise science - Tracking physiological values
• Shoutcasting experience in China

In the following episode, I had the pleasure to chat with Michael Gradisar - a sleep scientist, sleep psychologist and professor.  Michael's experience and passion for sleep has allowed him to publish research alongside creating winksleep.online that features blogs, courses and books. 

The following episode touches on the following;
1. Importance of sleep schedules and the role they play for students
2. Accountability for Esports organisations
3. Travelling and jet lag for players interstate and internationally
4. Burn outs and caffeine impacts
5. Sleep monitoring and wearables
6. Previous research; South Korea Esports athletes

In the following episode, I chat with Dr Ryan Terao, a licensed clinical psychologist who works within the Esports industry as an Esports psychologist, mental performance coach and Esports program developer. He has experience working in League of Legends, Rainbow 6 Siege and Valorant.

The following episode features the following topics;

• Creating buy in with players and coaches
• building a dynasty and battling the ups and downs
• Roster rotation culture
• Leadership adoption and importance
• Team culture
• Cognitive dissonance 
• Emotional regulation
• being a support player
• Tapering Esports and cognitive fatigue
• Self confidence and Self Efficacy
• Mental toughness
• Choking - Titan vs Underdogs
• Mindset of a troll.

In the following episode I sit down and chat with Charlie Beestone. Charlie is registered Performance Nutritionist, with experience in working in elite sport in a variety of sports including  Rugby, Football, Netball, Olympic Weightlifting, Triathlon, Strongman, Equestrian and many more. He is also a lecturer in Sport and Exercise Nutrition at Hartpury University in the UK.  Alongside traditional sport, Charlie is currently looking to carry out research on the use of nutritional interventions to improve Esports, and is really passionate about nutrition to improve cognition and brain function in a variety of settings.  Charlie's experience within nutrition shines through as we chat about performing a needs analysis for individualized requirements,  future Esports research possibilities and the use of caffeine for gamers.

Welcome to Mindclickers; Season 2, Episode 4.  
In the following episode I dive in with Joe, an experienced telecom salesman by day, but leading and hungry Esports CEO at night. Joe draws on his past experiences when he first helped to start an organisation, followed by taking a social media manager role with FURY. Joe slowly grinding the solo Q of life and rose to the accomplished position that he is proud of today. The goal of this episode, is to provide an insight into the behind the scenes action of the thought process from an organisational perspective. How they choose teams, what gambles to take and ultimately what areas to focus on. Joe further talks about the founding of the OCA - Oceania Esports Association and the tremendous work they have done to help up and coming Esports athletes feel like they have a place to fit it. It is a conglomerate of localised Esports teams, with the ultimate goal of network and sharing the common passion - Esports.

In the following episode, listen to Anthony describe himself being in the flow state, and having the ability to out edge his opponents mentally to be concise, and perform consistently. Anthony also talks about the importance of team communication and team culture alongside briefly talking about the impact of injury and self confidence. Anthony reflects on his online gaming experiences and his ability to perform at the highest level in ranked Valorant, recently achieving Immortal 2.

Coach Zeke, the legendary coach behind many top players' rise to prominence, comes on the show to teach AV and Peon a thing or two. Listen to the trifecta talk about the journey from expert to master, key aspects holding your play back mentally, and how to approach re-contextualizing coping mechanisms.

Socials:
Zeke: @ZekeHere

AV: @AVaidyanatha
Peon: @Peon_BTM
BTM: @beyondmetagame

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Beyond the Metagame is a Super Smash Brothers podcast that deals with how to both improve and enjoy the game more without ever touching a controller. Every week, Abhi Vaidyanatha (AV) and Dane Hartog (Peon) tackle one important piece to the puzzle of maximizing your potential as a competititor, breaking down the importance of leveling up your mind and body in parallel with your in-game techniques.