Daily Esports met with former professional gamers who work in other fields to celebrate the 9th anniversary of their founding. There was a case where one took the civil service exam and became a civil servant, as well as a systems engineer, insurance company branch manager, a game company employee, KeSPA employee, etc.
Nevertheless, the first thing that professional gamers think of when retiring is coaching. The top result from a survey of retired pros was becoming a head coach or coach. It’s because they want to use their knowledge from when they were active and hand it down to younger players while continuing working in the field.
Daily Esports met with active KT Rolster head coach Lee Ji-hun, who has held the baton the longest, to hear about the joys and pains he’s experienced, his must-haves as a coach and his vision.
Q: The League of Legends season is at a peak so thanks for accepting the interview.
A: Recently we lost games we should have won to SK Telecom T1 and ROX Tigers so the players received a shock. The losses are a problem too but because we lost games we had all but won we’re wondering what the problem is. Attending Rift Rivals is an opportunity to figure out the exact cause. Still, since the interview was about retirement, the biggest concern for esports players, I accepted the interview.
Q: While being a coach, haven’t you experienced such defeats several times?
A: I became head coach in March 2008 and from August took over the heavy responsibility of being the director. Since I had been a player in FIFA and not StarCraft, I adapted as a coach and led the team with several coaches. The KT StarCraft days had more severe ups and downs than other teams. Even though it won Proleague twice in a row it was still considered Lee (Flash) Young-ho’s one-man team. After crossing over into League of Legends, there’s also a belief that the team is only strong in summer. Nevertheless, this loss was shocking.
Q: Let’s talk about the old days. Before becoming a coach, when you were a FIFA player, there were no coaches. Still, you won an incredible amount of tournaments by yourself.
A: It was a different time. In the early 2000s, esports had just begun, and in the midst of that StarCraft was popular. There weren’t many teams that cared about FIFA. FIFA was a 1v1 game, and teams only had one or two players so the circumstances didn’t call for coaches.
Q: Is there a reason why you returned to KT after retiring from being a player and doing your military service? Also, how did you feel when they asked you to be head coach?
A: When KT Rolster was still KTF MagicNs I entered as an intern, but at the time there was a shortage of coaches. The head office recommended that I try working as a coach instead of working in the office and since my major was physical education I said I’d give it a try.
Since I had been a FIFA player others worried but since StarCraft was a national pastime I already had a certain amount of knowledge. Personally I believe that while specialized knowledge about games is important, communication skills and attitude towards others are more important.
Q: You led teams in three games: StarCraft, Special Force, and League of Legends and won at least once in all three as coach. What’s different about being an esports coach compared to other sports?
A: Esports coaching staff have the fate of dealing with different games. In normal sports, they may suffer a blow but they don’t need to worry about the game surviving. The lifetime of an esport depends on the popularity of the game. I may have been a FIFA player but I was a coach for StarCraft and Special Force. Then I’ve been head coach of a League of Legends team for six years now. It’s the fate of the esports industry, if you’re around for a while, you can’t help but experience a variety of games.
Q: In StarCraft, KT was considered the one-man team of Lee “Flash” Young-ho. How did you manage an S-level player like Flash’s condition and the record of the team?
A: Our team had two missions at that time, maintaining Flash’s condition by supporting him and scouting for players with potential. Coach Kim Yoon-hwan took care of Flash. Kim Yoon-hwan, who despite being a genius Terran couldn’t shine as a player, took special care of Flash’s confidence to keep him from following his footsteps. We left it to coach Kang Doh-gyung to find and nurture new talent. When Kim (Stats) Dae-yeob and Woo (Violet) Jung-ho were rookies, we confirmed their potential and trained them Spartan style.
Q: When training the players of three different games there must be differences in feeling. Are there distinctions in player development?
A: In StarCraft players must be considered from the long-term. While there is the official route of being scouted and going from trainee to player, that’s not the way to pick a complete player. It takes a long time to grow into a player who can win a professional league. Since it’s a 1v1 game it’s easy to raise the skill level but it’s not easy to determine if a player has what it takes to win.
Getting to know the players’ ability is easy in League of Legends because the ranked ladder exists. If they are challenger tier on the Korean server then their skills are already proven, regardless of what team they join. However, it takes a long time to complete one team. Teamwork is important in a game and sacrifices are also necessary in the process. Especially because there is pick/ban, everyone cannot get the champion they want. Someone needs to sacrifice and it’s not easy for high elo players to accept.
Nevertheless, our team’s coaching staff is focused on developing the character of our players. It’s no exaggeration to say that professional gamers are capable. However, personality needs to be constantly worked on and they should be trained to fit the team.
Q: Are there traits that an esports coach needs to have?
A: You need to have a deep understanding of the game. It’s better if you were a player deeply familiar with one game. Even if you change games, the basic operating principles are similar so you can adapt quickly.
Besides the game skills, you need something else. Being able to put yourself in another’s shoes. A coach needs to know what the player is thinking and understand why the player played a certain way. It’s difficult for both player and coach to improve when the player is scolded one-way and forced to play a certain way because the coach disagrees. Especially in the present, when team games are popular, it is necessary to put yourself in the other’s shoes.
And another thing, a coach should know his own limits. A coach is a person who leads but not a player himself. Games are played by players, and wins and losses are determined by players. Even if the leader did their best, if the players lost it was not enough and people may think the coach is not competent. However, if the players win, even if the coach did not do his job properly he will be evaluated highly. It’s not that the coach isn’t important, but rather than focusing on short term results, I mean you should make a long term plan and put it into action to identify and develop good players.
Q: In order to develop the team and players long-term, it is necessary to have full support from the office. How do you manage the relationship between coaching staff and office?
A: For the team to have a good result, management is more important when the team atmosphere is bad versus when it is good. There’s a tendency for the office to believe that the team should be first place because they invested a lot in the team. There’s no problem if the team gets the desired result but if you get unwanted results they busily try to find the cause. This process can destroy team chemistry. That’s when coaching staff need to make the office understand. Analysis of the cause should be presented ahead with suggestions for improvement. I think the coaching staff made a mistake if the office try to find the cause directly from the players. The coaching staff should be a bridge and umbrella to the office for the players.
The best way is if the office and coaching staff build trust with lots of discussion before the season begins. It’s best if they discuss needs with each other and get support, followed by good results, establishing investment for the next season, and creating a virtuous cycle.
Q: You’ve been a coach for a long time, there must be some memorable players.
A: There are many players but rather than the players who have been S-rank since the start, the players who didn’t lose their goals despite hardships and became top players through hard work are more memorable. For example, Kim (Stats) Dae-yeob in StarCraft. When he was chosen as a trainee I thought ‘Can this player last for more than two years’ but he did his best in training and whenever he was lacking he spoke to the coaches and became a player who supported the team in Proleague. He’s left the team now but he even became a player who won the league.
In League of Legends I want to pick Ko “Score” Dong-bin. Our team has had many changes but it’s not because he’s the member who is still here. For six years he’s been the first in the practice room to train and it’s impressive to see how he is the first to communicate with and take in new players after his teammates change. Also he joined the team as an AD Carry and ended up swapping to jungle while performing consistently for the team so I would like to speak of him highly.
Q: What do you want to say to people who want to become esports coaching staff?
A: I would like to live by the words I said before. If you put yourself in another’s position you can understand why they did something. Not meaning that you should excuse everything because you understand. If you’re a coach who leads players in a direction, you need to understand the players’ mindset and judge what is best.
Esports is different from other sports in that the coach cannot show the best play directly. This is because the people who are the best players are the best in performance. So then how can we lead players? Coaches lead players through conversation. Through true communication, coaches can know what players are thinking and move their hearts to lead the way the team wants, the coaches want, and the players want.
It’s said that star players don’t make good coaches, but I think it’s because they don’t recognize limits. In the eyes of a player who is used to making “superplays,” plays from all players may fade in comparison. In that sense, Zinedine Zidane, coach of Real Madrid, has had good results in the short time since he became coach. If you dream of becoming a good leader, then you should watch him closely.
Written by Nam Yun-seong (thenam@dailyesports.com).
Translated by Rebecca.
*This translation was provided through a partnership with the ROX Tigers.
