In a recent conversation with Viperio, Head Coach Daniel “papp” Hart gave his thoughts about coaching styles and his expectations for January competitions.
Can you tell us how you are preparing the team for upcoming high-stake tournaments like ESL Conference and RMR qualifiers?
“Right now it’s just about going through the material we have at current, and any thing we want to add or change. More importantly, we are trying to build on the chemistry within the team as it is still a relatively new roster.”
“Seeing results after adding two new players takes time. It is massively important that we make sure everyone is settled and we establish the foundations before we look to highlight and fix potential issues. Although a young group, this roster is bursting with potential.”
How would you describe your coaching style and philosophy?
“I would say my style is pretty balanced. It is important for me to keep it relaxed and make sure we keep an atmosphere in which people want to play and feel comfortable offering their ideas and opinions. At the same time, I try to ensure that everyone is on the same page as I believe the balance of the team is very important.”
“I have always tried to make sure that when working with teams or recruiting players that we have the right balance of personalities within the group in order to succeed.”
How do you balance the development of individual player skills with the overall team strategy?
“Rasmus and I have always kept a loose playing style, the way we like to play will always be like that and it is something I focus on when coaching teams. This gives players the freedom to showcase their skills and bring any new ideas to the table while acting within the parameters of their unique roles and positions.”
“In order to maintain consistency, it is crucial not to shuffle these roles and positions around whenever we lose a game, as this would purely be a short-term reactionary move.”
“Creating and maintaining an environment where the players are confident where they are given the time to learn their roles and positions will reward both themselves and the team in the long run.”
Lastly, how do you think the team will performance come the end of January?
“We are still improving everyday. We have only had just over a full week of practice (chuck a 10 day Christmas break in there), so some games we are learning on the job. For example, we didn’t have the time to practice or talk about Vertigo before the Lazer Cats game, however, it was good to see we were very close to winning.”
“I fully believe this is the strongest five we have ever played with individually, and each day we practice, and every official we play, we will keep improving.”
“We have an exciting month ahead and we have the potential to do really well. it is important however that we do not get lost in the fact that we are a new team. We will be far better in 3 weeks than we are today, and again in 1 -2 months from there. We are starting to have the basics down, and from there our confidence will grow and results will come.”
“It’s all about time!”
