An Interview with Michael Fay, Jr., Director and Head Coach of Esports at The University of Akron

With Esports now a part of the University of Akron, we connected with the Director and Head Coach of the program, Michael Fay Jr.  

Q: For those who aren't familiar, can you provide a quick summary of what Esports is?

Certainly. To put it simply esports is competitive video gaming, but the way I like to explain it to the uninitiated is this: esports is the use of electronic systems to test one's skills against a live human opponent. This is very similar to the way one would test their skills against other players in a conventional sport like basketball. The difference is what skills are being tested. In conventional sports athletes test their physical strength, speed, and agility, While esports athletes don't necessarily test those skills, they do test their reflexes, accuracy, muscle memory, strategy, communication, mental toughness, and endurance just as conventional athletes do, but to a different degree.

The major appeal to esports is the fact that it can be played online. While a student may be able to test their basketball skills against the kids in their neighborhood or rival schools, any student can log online and test their esports skills against millions of players across the country. Of course, the fantastical elements of the gameplay itself also make it a thrilling spectacle to watch.

Q: What will recruiting look like for our Esports program?  Are players recruiting based on specific games or more for their general abilities?

We will be holding tryouts for individual games. There are a few reasons for this. The first is that not all games require all of the same skills to the same degree. For example, a collectible card game such as Hearthstone greatly rewards players who have a deep understanding of probability and the abilities of each card. However, the speed of one's reflexes, while useful in a pinch, is hardly as important as it would be in a first-person shooter such as Overwatch. The second reason is that each of these games has an incredible amount of complexity to them especially when played at the highest level. A game such as League of Legends has over 130 playable characters.So as fast as your hands might be with a keyboard and mouse, you're helpless unless you've built a familiarity with the abilities of each of the most played champions and their strengths and weaknesses. We want to field a roster of the most experienced players for each game.

We'll be sending out applications for interested current and admitted students to try out for the team. One advantage to esports is that a majority of the games have a built-in ranking system and so we'll examine each player's rank as well as any previous competitive experience they may have. However, high ranked accounts can be purchased and it's possible to pay to have someone else rank up your account. We'll invite those determined, by myself and the student coaches for each game, to be some of the highest skilled players to participate in a few try out matches. This way we can see if they have the skills their rank would indicate they have. Those applicants will be assigned to into teams and their gameplay will be recorded as well as their voice communications. The student coaches and I will review these recordings in order to determine who among all of the highest skill players also knows how to work toward team cohesion and communicate effectively. It's one thing to play alone and carry four random players to victory in a single game, but varsity players will be asked to collaborate and grow with a set roster over an extended period of time. The players we decide have both of these abilities or a masterful amount of either will then be offered a position on the varsity team for that game.

Q: What are common characteristics of a good Esports player?

Good esports players have an incredible drive for mastery. They recognize that because video game competitions occur in a simulated environment almost every aspect of the game's mechanics can be calculated or understood probabilistically in order to determine the optimal path for victory. The independent variable then becomes the actions of the opponent and so empathy becomes a crucial characteristic of a good player. They make the optimal play, but consistently adjust their play to reflect their estimation of the mindset of their opponent. Then, of course, there's that mystery element of mechanical skill. With enough training, it can be learned to a degree and for some, it comes more naturally, but a good esports player combines knowledge and empathy seamlessly with a jaw-dropping amount of speed and precision.

There's also a whole different set of characteristics that make a good esports team member. A good team member knows their strengths and weaknesses. They adopt a role on the team that best suits their strengths and continuously improve upon their weaknesses. They communicate well for their role. So for example, if a good player is quiet they adopt a more supportive role but make an active effort to communicate crucial information to the team. If they're vocal, they adopt the role of shot-caller, make an active effort to listen for crucial information about the game state and vocally direct the strategy of the team based on that information.

Q: As head coach and director, how can you influence your players to improve?

As a coach, I work to facilitate analysis and conversation from my players. I create an environment for them to vocalize their pain points and then work with them to develop a focused plan of action to address those pain points. Once that plan is developed I hold them to their plan unflinchingly for a period of time and monitor for improvement. Then if the player or team improve how they wanted to I conduct a post-mortem with them where I show them exactly how they made themselves a better player. In my experience, this helps to develop a kind of discipline and confidence that is crucial for competitive performance. In addition, I do the research that I don't want my players losing practice time doing. Whether that's watching professional gameplay or scouting the competition, I bring all the useful information I can find back to my teams and help inform their gameplay.

Q: We've seen more colleges and universities adding Esports.  Is it also growing at the high school level (especially locally)?

Absolutely, I've heard from a variety of local high schools that are either already conducting their own esports programs or are interested in developing one.

Q: What do Esports uniforms entail?

Esports uniforms don't necessarily have to entail anything. I think some esports organizations, in their eagerness to achieve the mainstream success of traditional sports, have adopted all the conventions of those sports regardless of their utility or applicability to esports. In my mind, it's just as important for the esports community to celebrate and embrace the ways that we are different from traditional sports. I don't feel like having sports jerseys for esports players are entirely necessary, particularly aspects like jersey numbers as they aren't needed to spot players at a distance on the field. I've always appreciated teams such as the ROX Tigers who in their inaugural season of the LCK in 2015 wore different matching prep school outfits from week to week. There is an opportunity to have distinct branding with uniforms that go beyond jerseys at the professional level. However, at the varsity level, I feel it's only appropriate to have a uniform that reflects the prestige of our other varsity teams and I know how much it would mean to me as a college player to finally receive a jersey for the hard work I've put into my game. I expect our teams will have uniforms that closely resemble sports jerseys with a little bit of esports flare to them.

Q: What types of games are played?  Who selects the games schools compete in?  Are all games newer releases or do retro games ever come into play?

All types of games can be played competitively, but there are some that are more popular than others; both in terms of the number of players and number of viewers of professional tournaments. When we provided an opportunity for students to submit the games they'd be interested having The University of Akron play, over 80 different games were listed. However, only about 20 had enough interest that you could field a full roster. We decided on our 5 varsity games based first and foremost on student interests. Those games are League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Overwatch, Rocket League, and Hearthstone. We also factored in the overall popularity of each game and the amount of competition out there from other varsity teams. These five games all happen to be relatively newer, but there are certainly retro games that are still played competitively. We have a vibrant competitive scene for Super Smash Brothers Melee on our campus, which is a 17-year-old game. That's why I'm so excited about our club esports program as we'll still be able to provide organizational and technological support for games that we may not be able to field varsity teams for right now.

Q: What was your favorite game growing up as a kid?  What is it now?  

As a kid, my favorite game was Starcraft which is a real-time strategy game. My parents didn't allow me to play online when I was younger and so I was never really exposed to the competitive aspect of the game until I was in college, but I loved the tactics and I used to play against the computer almost every day. These days my favorite game is a largely unknown turn-based tactics game called Atlas Reactor. It really hasn't gotten the credit it deserves and not many people play it so my most played games right now are probably League of Legends and Overwatch.

Q: The last we heard, UA's Esports arena was to be determined.  Is James A Rhodes Arena a possibility?  What is required for a good Esports arena?

One of the reasons that esports has primarily been a subculture for so long is that for the most part, it doesn't require a physical presence in order to compete or spectate. Yet I can attest that live events are absolutely invigorating to attend. We've seen live esports events sell out the Staples Center and Madison Square Garden. I think hosting a live esports event in the JAR is a fantastic idea. However, those types of events are typically for the big final matches for any particular game. The esports arenas we're implementing will be purposed more toward regular use by our student esports athletes and recreational gamers. In most cases, their opponents will be playing from their home institution via the internet. For any good esports arena the three big requirements, besides the equipment, are network capacity, power output, and ventilation. The high-end gaming PCs our teams will be practicing and be competing on can require a lot of power and generate a lot of heat. With so many of them online at once, we also want to make sure that they maintain a fast, stable connection to the server their game is running on. There would've been quite an uproar if the Eagles all "disconnected" during the middle of the Super Bowl and so we'll be making sure all our players can stay connected to their big games too.  

Q: President Wilson is a huge supporter of this program.  What were your initial discussions like with him?

My initial discussions with President Wilson were the primary reason why I was so glad to accept this position at The University of Akron. President Wilson is open about his original unfamiliarity with esports and so it might seem strange that he would be such a large driver behind an unconventional program such as this. It was clear during our discussions that President Wilson listens to the students and recognizes the energy that they have for a program that taps into their passions such as this one. I really appreciated that his unfamiliarity with esports didn't last an instant after recognizing the opportunity to better serve students and that now he's fully engaged with esports. That's still quite a rarity among institutions of higher learning across the US. The energy he's committed to the development of this program will be a huge contributor to its success.

Q:The Cleveland Cavaliers recently bought a League of Legends franchise.  Will there be any sort of connection between the Cavs team and UA?

The Cavs have also founded an organization for participation in the upcoming NBA2K League called Cavs Legion GC. We want to put Ohio on the map for esports and I'm sure the Cavs want nothing less. I would certainly be interested in forming a connection with the Cavs teams in order to do so as I think there's tremendous potential there.

Q: How can UA students and alumni best follow the progress of the new program?  

As of right now any interested UA students can visit www.uakron.edu/esports and fill out our form in order to be included on the mailing list for regular updates about the program. We will be launching a comprehensive social media presence for the program very soon. So watch your feeds! Until then alumni and any interested community members are welcome to contact me to learn more about the program at mfay@uakron.edu 

Q: What are you most excited about in your first year as head coach and director?

I'm really lucky because the moment I was most excited for in my first year happened within my first week and that was hearing the gratitude and appreciation from students for getting this program up and running. As someone who spent 8 years having to constantly advocate for the validity of esports and create my own career opportunities in the industry, it's an incredible honor to be responsible for founding one of the first few programs that will validate the passion of future generations of gamers and establish tangible opportunities for professional development within esports. It's truly all I've ever wanted to do. Now I'm really excited to see the program at work and watch the transformative moments our players and student leaders experience when they tap into their passion for gaming. 

Q: What is the biggest misperception you see/hear with Esports?

Those unfamiliar with esports have always tended to approach it with a lot of preconceived notions about what it is and who the people who participate in it are. I guess the biggest misperception is that playing competitive video games is a lazy activity. It certainly doesn't require explosive physical activity, but these players are incredibly hard working and committed to mastery. To say that esports are just lazy sports is true in a sense, but it's only true in the same sense that Amazon is a lazy bookstore or Netflix is a lazy blockbuster. Just because it's digital doesn't mean it isn't worth taking a look at. There are tons of other misperceptions as well. Women play esports too. Video games don't promote violence in children. People with depression or mental illness may withdraw from society and play video games instead, but video games don't appear to cause depression. I'm excited to be developing a program that gets gamers out of their dorms, puts a spotlight on their success, and helps to combat some of these common misperceptions.

Q: Is there anything else you want people to know about the program?

I'd like them to know that there will be much more to know about the program in the near future. So stay tuned and Go Zips!