"If everyone is moving forward together, then success will take care of itself" – Henry Ford.

Today we're going to discuss how you can recruit the right players for your team - to ensure your team is moving forward with the best chances for better results and a much more enjoyable time together.

Teams come in many forms. We've all been a part of many teams throughout our lives. And you know that some of those teams worked, and others didn't. It could have been an esports team, traditional sports team, school or university class, or social group. No matter what type of team it was, you've been in a team that had problems and simply didn't work at some point in time—issues such as a hostile environment, poor results, or unhappy and unsatisfied teammates.

As a coach, you want to give yourself the best shot at recruiting players who:

• Are the right fit for each other
• Have a similar level of skill
• Live in a supportive environment
• Share similar goals and values
• Have similar levels of experience

Have matching characteristics

This blog will focus on the last point – matching characteristics. You'll learn about five characteristics to look for during your recruitment process to increase the chances of finding the right players for your team. Why? Because if you're successful in selecting the right players, you'll have better synergy, atmosphere, efficiency, and results!

These are all highly desirable outcomes that you can have if you go into your recruitment process with the proper preparation. To help you prepare, let's dive into the five characteristics you can look for during your recruitment process.

Characteristics for the right individual

They have goals and ambitions

This characteristic is not only applicable to esports but to other important areas of your life, too. You want to recruit players that share similar goals and ambitions. This means that your player's priorities match the level of their dreams and ambitions. For example, imagine you had four players that want to go pro and one player that doesn't. Those four players want to scrim 5-6 times per week and do in-depth VOD reviews, while the other player doesn't. He wants to socialize and be involved in his other hobbies.

This is an apparent misalignment of goals and ambitions and can and will drastically impact your team's results, synergy, efficiency, and atmosphere.

During the interview process, ask your potential players what their goals are, when they want to accomplish them, how they're going to do it, and what kind of obstacles they're prepared to face to achieve those goals.

Is actively working to become better and can name specifics of their approach

This is a vital characteristic. If you ask, "how do you work on your goals and watch VOD reviews" although this may sound good, is it really good enough? 

If you follow up by asking, "what's the last thing you worked on while watching a VOD review?" and they have a hard time specifying precisely what they've been working on, then it could be a potential red flag that they might not be as dedicated as they say they are. It could also indicate that they're not improving.

This type of questioning can help you filter out players who want to be the best and constantly improve and those who don't.

Has a deep love for the game and can tell you why

A great way to test for this characteristic is to start by asking your potential recruits, "why do you love the game? If their answer is somewhat vague and they answer with no specifics, it could indicate that it could be an addiction or a way to distract themselves. Even if an addicted player is a good player, it doesn't mean they will be a good fit for your team.

Are they mentally strong and can regulate emotions?

Mental strength and regulating emotions are essential when it comes to esports. If your players haven't built up these skills yet, there's a higher chance they'll negatively affect your team. 

To get insight into this characteristic, ask your players, "what do you do when you get behind? How do you bounce back from a loss exactly? How do you behave when you're angry or under pressure?".

You can also do your homework and ask their previous teammates how your potential recruit behaved when they were teammates. 

Playing esports for the right reasons

Why are they even playing in esports? For materialistic gains? Money? Fame? Top teams screen their players based on these types of motivations. If a player wants to be the best to earn a lot of money, that player tends to be more egotistical, which doesn't help build a great team.

For example, if your team has been losing for a few weeks, the egotistical player will find a way to look good rather than collaborate with your team. A big red flag!

In Summary

You've now learned about five critical characteristics that will help you to recruit the best players for your team. We encourage you to take this list of characteristics with you the next time you interview a player to help you with this process. You can also reflect on these points to see if your current players have these characteristics or not. 

Your Next Level

Want more of these insights, more examples, more detailed, more in depth, and more practical ways to implement it to elevate your esports coaching to the next level? Are you looking to transform your esports coaching career and reach your next level by having the impact that you want and your players need, growing your career faster, coaching better teams, and learning how to position and market yourself at the same time? Then check out the Esports Coach Revolution Course, which is a unique chance to get where you want to be as an esports coach. With a community of like-minded coaches, you will learn everything you need in 10 weeks to transform your career to the next level with continuous updates, new content and courses and much more...

Questions about the Esports Coach Revolution or other things you would like to know or learn about esports coaching? click [here] to join the Next Level Esports Discord and just send a message in general chat or a DM.

See you there, coach!