Top Tips to Make it in Collegiate Esports
“Take every opportunity to use the talent you’ve developed to meet as many college coaches, directors, and players as you can during this time. They will become your community, despite the university you ultimately select.”
Level Up is a series of interviews with esports professionals, coaches, and individuals playing their part in innovating the competitive gaming scene. Follow their story and advice as we shed light on their journey.
Collegiate Esports started to become official on July 28th, 2016, as the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) was born. According to NACE, only seven colleges and universities had varsity esports programs at its start. Now, there are over 170 schools with collegiate varsity programs.
This has led to a massive influx of high school students and amateur esports athletes interested in collegiate. With many programs offering scholarships and providing full-rides for a variety of esports titles, many rising esports athletes have been given a chance to make their dreams come true. The biggest dream of them all being the opportunity to make substantial money while competing at a high level.
The team at Insights had a chance to talk to 6 different collegiate program directors and head coaches. We asked a straightforward question: “If you had to give a tip for an aspiring esports athlete interested in collegiate esports, what would you tell them?”
Kevin Reape — General Manager, Mizzou Esports
Focus on your portfolio. In gaming, thousands of people reach the top of the leaderboards, win tournaments, and maybe even some money. Very few students will prepare a portfolio that shows how they stand out from the crowd. Are you a high-achieving student with a 25-minute clip of shot-calling that’s OWL level? I want to see that, not just read a list of how often you crack 4000SR, for example. Maybe this is a personal website, or a resume, or a private Instagram feed. Get creative, but find a way to sell yourself and the work you have done thus far.
Dr. Chris Haskell — Head Coach, Boise State Esports
Take every opportunity to use the talent you’ve developed to meet as many college coaches, directors, and players as you can during this time. They will become your community, despite the university you ultimately select. Get to know as many people as you can before you make your decision. You’ll be richer because of it.
Josh Sides — Head Esports Coach, Winthrop University
Compete as much as possible. Get team experience playing on high school teams, or if you can, in amateur leagues. That’s an essential part of what I look at when looking at a prospective athlete. I want to see if their experience can help them fit into the culture and goals that we have here at Winthrop.
Sean Mitchuson — Esports Head Coach, University of Akron
Learn professional communication techniques. Many players don’t know how to effectively introduce themselves, act in a team environment, or talk to administrative individuals. Knowing how to do that helps a lot. It could easily be the difference between getting a message back or just getting ignored.
Nicholas Chiu — Director, SLU Esports
To put themselves out there rather than waiting to get recruited. Besides working on your rank and individual skill, your social media presence, and your contact with the school you potentially want to go to makes all the difference. Especially with newer programs, it’s hard for them to know where to begin with recruiting, and by being the ones to be more vocal, you’re more likely to get recruited with an offer. If not with that school, it’s easier for many other schools to find you.
Ronald Ly — Head Coach, UCI Esports
Take balance seriously. What’s most important is to build on your ability to manage time well. Between practice, academics, and life in general; It’s a tall task. The biggest winners are the ones who best utilize every second. Key things to make your life easier that you can do while incorporating yourself into college and competing would be:
1) Create a routine. Make it realistic, stay on schedule, make sure it’s something sustainable for you.
2) Don’t cheat. By that, I mean don’t slack. Don’t hold yourself accountable to a plan that has you doing something 24/7. Work and play at a pace that makes sense. No one else is judging or watching or keeping score. Do you, but do it earnestly.
To learn more about any of these esports programs and to keep up to date with what they’re up to, be sure to check out their official websites here.
To keep up with our coverage of esports professionals and see how Insights is equipping these individuals, follow us on Twitter or visit our website, Insights.gg.
