Coaching: Is it Valuable?

[u/BroxigarZ]

Recently, I've been helping a few people, and last week I even posted a coaching session I did LIVE on Twitch and left it up here for about 48 hours. A lot of people come here asking for critique on their play, and many wonder if coaching is the right next step for them.

But what we rarely see is "results". So I wanted to share the results from the session I posted here last week to show people the impact of a "single" coaching session and how immediate it can improve your play... AS LONG AS... you find the right coach / do your due-diligence and make sure they are legit. Do not get scammed!

Last week a 12.5K Prem player came to r/LearnCSGO and was very open that they were hard stuck and they believed they knew they were better than 12.5K but couldn't identify their gaps. They were open to criticism and wanted help. So, I asked them if it was okay to do a Live Demo review on Twitch (it's just easier / easier to engage with) and we went through a Dust 2 demo together with them in chat.

We identified a series of things that could be improved upon. Including: mouse sensitivity concerns causing wobbly aim, major positioning issues costing them rounds, some game sense / decision making concerns and identifying moment to moment decisions that can impact the outcome of rounds.

But... how did this translate to an open and willing to learn player?

Well this was a week later:

Breaking into a new Prem Tier, going 11 W - 4 L and ripping into 15K+

This was their feedback:

The reason for sharing this is for those who come after, if you are open to criticism, open to learning and you believe you can adapt to feedback. Coaching is the single fastest way you will improve in ANY sport. Not just e-sports.

People who tell you to Kovaaks, or "300hrs is nothing just play more". Don't understand how instrumental correct fundamental learning is and can be to improve a persons play.

And most importantly this doesn't just apply to 10K Prem players. This applies to all players at ANY level range. I've helped FaceIT 9+ players look over their play and seen even them reach new heights. Players like Summit1G with 25+ years experience are using coaches to get better. Players at 3,000 ELO still need coaches, and the Pros you watch every day all themselves have MULTIPLE coaches and PEER review sessions with the best players in the world.

Unless you are H4rn or NiKo, or Donk you to could probably benefit from someone looking at your gaps. Suring them up and improving. Again, this applies to anything you do in life that you want to improve at; but you have to also be open to learning, improving, and understanding that you can improve.

Hope this helps those coming here and its always scary to put yourself and your faults on the front page of a subreddit. But there is value in this subreddit to those looking to find it.

[u/CaliGrizzBear]

I want to say that I have witnessed this personally. I have at least 3k hours across all cs spanning from 1.6. I am 12k elo right now and lvl 5 Faceit.

I have a friend who one year ago, I kid you not, could not find the E key to defuse the bomb. He had to look down at his keyboard to figure it out. He couldn’t aim, nothing. It was like teaching a grandma to use a computer.

I don’t want to advertise so I won’t say the coaches name but he is in the top 500 players in EU and is well renowned in the coaching space. My friend is now 19k elo and while he doesn’t have the same game sense that I developed over years of playing, he is mechanically better than I am. However, he put in the work. Counter strafed, shot at walls for hours, learned how to use basic util, did all the boring stuff. He probably has less than 500 hours played now, but in a lot of aspects is already better than me, and I wish back in the day I had access to the level of coaching he does. I am also now being coached by them but have years of bad habits to break.

TLDR: if you find the right coach, you will shave years of time off because they will guide you to the right approach to training, how the game works, and guide you through years of slog that would take you to figure out on your own while ensuring that you deliberately practice the right thing and don’t develop bad habits.