Once or twice a week for about an hour at the MSI Training Facility in Columbia, Missouri’s Rocket League team gets together for practice.
Typically it’s a scrimmage against a team from another school in a best-of-seven format, set up by team captains Christian “Crimz” VanMeter (Gold) and Chris “Homelessbaby” Johnston (Black).
And just like in any other sport, their coach is watching and learning.
Blake Griesbauer analyzes his players’ performances from scrimmages and other matches and looks for ways Missouri can improve individually and collectively.
“So they’ve actually been doing pretty good about each week having a scrim, and then if they want to go over it, we’ll go over it,” Griesbauer said. “And if they don’t, we’ll usually look into like an individual analysis and kind of see how they’re doing … because it doesn’t just have to be with the team because we’re trying to enhance the players, too.”
Going through the replays, Griesbauer looks to refine each of the players’ skills and explain their positioning.
“If we know that we have a player who’s staying back more and is passive more, then we need to play with that in mind,” Griesbauer said. “Rather than just, you know, banging the ball away, which it happens and it’s not bad.”
Instead of focusing on having more possession of the ball than their opponent, Griesbauer emphasizes players playing with their own style.
“So if you’re a very aggressive player and you have two very passive players, then you might want to set up to them more so that they can set up to you, down the road,” Griesbauer said.
Rocket League may not be that comparable to traditional sports, but there are some aspects of the game that make it similar to some.
“It’s a lot more like hockey in the way that it plays,” Griesbauer said. … “You counter out the play styles of the players you’re dealing with.”
While Rocket League isn’t a physical sport, the game is dependent on being mentally ready. The sport is “about having the mentality and ready to go in at a moment’s notice,” Griesbauer said.
Setting up scrimmages helps hone that mentality. An organized scrimmage is “a step above” Rocket League ranked matches, Johnston said, in which there’s little control over the level of competition.
And while the team only practices for a few hours a week, players spend significantly more time playing outside of that time. Unlike, say, a football team, an eSports squad can get practice reps at any time and from most anywhere, including at home.
“I think, on Steam right now, I have about 100 hours for the past two (weeks),” Johnston said, “so maybe in between like 50 and 60 (hours a week).”
Practices generally consist of contesting other schools non-competitively and going over replays from those matches.
“I think it’s all about what the players want and need to do, right, because we’re (in) college,” Griesbauer said. “It’s not just like there are so much more important things going on outside of the game, that when we’re here we need to be able to practice into what we’re ready to practice into.”
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