Behind every great team is a great coaching staff. Players can be incredibly talented, but without the correct leadership, a team is likely to find itself struggling to succeed. In the Overwatch League, fans have seen coaches come and go rather quickly, and the fans don’t often get to learn much about the minds behind the scenes.
Coming into the new season, Boston welcomed aboard 3 new coaches to accompany their over-hauled roster. In the midst of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, I reached out super-quick to the new hires to get to know them just a little bit more.
Head Coach: Vytis “Mineral” Lasaitis
Announced during one of Chris “HuK” Loranger’s AMAs, Mineral was the first of the new coaches to join the team. His previous OWL experience came in the Inaugural Season with the Florida Mayhem and the old Misfits roster.
How would you describe your coaching style?
I try to be as fair and balanced as possible. Adaptability is crucial.
Who is a coaching role model you look up to?
Gregg Popovich
What meta do you think is, or would be, the most fun to coach?
Probably being back to some sort of dive. A meta that requires a lot of coordination but also highlights individual prowess.
Who do you think will be the most interesting team to prepare a game plan for?
Impossible to tell at this point without having seen any of the teams. I suppose Chengdu is always a candidate.
You can get to know Mineral a little bit more with Matt Shiflet’s piece here!
[Rock Solid: Mineral Prepares for a New Chapter in 2020]
Assistant Coach: Ilias “iLka” Kaskanetas
iLka comes to Boston after coaching the Angry Titans to a 3-4 record in Season 2 EU Contenders. In his quick stint over in Europe, iLka coached new Uprising off-tank Thomas “brussen” Brussen and new Uprising Academy support Alexandre “Phatt” Silva. He also helped coach Atlanta Academy through Season 1 of NA Contenders.
How would you describe your coaching style?
My coaching style is heavily aimed on strategic aspects and teaching core concepts to my players. Moving from a player into a coaching role, I carry a lot of game knowledge, which I, in turn, provide to my players and team. From the very basic components of a composition to the very micro-detail, I try to cover and give the players a really good understanding so that they can use it themselves and learn to adapt as they compete.
Who is a coaching role model you look up to?
I don’t really have a coaching role model. I haven’t done much research in that area and I am trying to catch-up with various book recommendations and such but mainly, I try to imagine myself in the future and how I would want to do things properly. So I guess my role model could be called “my perfect self”. Sounds a little awkward but I am striving for perfection whenever I do something so it’s pretty fitting.
What meta do you think is, or would be, the most fun to coach?
Personally, I enjoy coaching metas that have a lot of depth and always have room for improvement. GOATS, for example, had been constantly evolving and new strategies were implemented while the base core and structure was kept. If I had to choose, I think I’d have to go with double sniper meta because it has a lot of flashy plays, but also a lot of in-depth strategies of space taking, angle peaking, and so on.
Since you’ve worked with Atlanta Academy and Angry Titans, what has been the biggest difference between coaching and NA contenders team and coaching an EU Contenders team?
Honestly, there aren’t too many differences between the two regions. The only big difference is that NA can come up with some quirky strategies that you normally wouldn’t see in Europe. Also, in Europe, we tend to like our brawls and tanks like Reinhardt, so you see more of those compositions played in scrims and pro plays.
Assistant Coach: Valentin “Ascoft” Wulfman
Ascoft is the former main support for the EU Contenders team, HSL Esports, where they were able to reach the Gauntlet in Season 2. After announcing his retirement back in October, Ascoft is back to follow a new path in coaching.
How would you describe your coaching style?
I try to be as close to my players as a coach can be. I value understanding their needs and knowing them in order to coach them to their maximum potential. Also will try this season to help them with stuff outside of the game like day-to-day routines, stress management, etc… I Strongly believe a team with strong bonding between every member is a key to success.
Who is a coaching role model you look up to?
Coach K. He’s devoting his life to create the best team environment for his players. Helps them develop skills outside the game that end up making them better persons and players at the end. His Leadership is all about finding ways to care for his players – really inspiring.
What meta do you think is, or would be, the most fun to coach?
GOATS. It’s all about team play and players understanding the macro, and their part in it. You only shine in GOATS when all six of your players are trying to play as a group.
What do you think is the biggest hurdle you’ll face during your transition from player to coach?
I have a pretty good idea of what a coach should bring to a team, as I have played most of my career without one. The rest of my team and I needed to coach ourselves, so there is no domain where I truly don’t know what I’m gonna do. My worst fear as a coach though, and it was the same as a player, is to end up in a situation where there is no team cohesion, and players start to lose faith in the team. Maintaining the bond of trust even through hard times will be a top priority for us coaches next season.
The Uprising coaches start their new season February 9th against the New York Excelsior in New York. You can watch the team in Boston when they play home match April 25th against the Washington Justice.
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