The Esports team enters its third year here at New England College with a new director, Dr. Josh Staley. Staley was hired during the 2021 spring semester. Before starting here at NEC, he was the head coach at Keuka College in New York.
“I’ve always wanted to move to New England, I’m originally from Texas. This is the weather I’ve always wanted to live in all year long,” said Staley.
Staley has been a part of the Esports industry in all different aspects, from being a gamer himself to attaining the position he holds now.
“I had a friend that was starting an esports training company, I hopped on board when he was first selling his pitch,” said Staley.
Besides being a gamer, his time spent at the company allowed him to gain experience becoming one of the few people in the industry to have years of experience.
“I was training coaches, hiring coaches, developing methods for training each individual student going through the program based on exactly where they were at,” said Staley.
Within weeks of starting as the Director of Esports, Staley has already made change compared to the previous seasons. In the past students were expected to tryout to become a part of the Esports team— starting this season that is no longer the case.
“I can field as many teams as I want, I have like five NBA 2k teams. I’m limited by space” said Staley.
If a student is interested in joining or learning more about Esports they can visit the arena located on the fifth floor of the Simon Center.
Staley’s approach on coaching the Esports is different compared to the other coaching methods.
“I don’t really know other coaches, I’m a psychologist. But Esports is different, I am never going to be an expert in all the games played because those games change,” said Staley.
Esports is a different type of sport in general. It has two eight-week seasons (one in each semester) and is constantly evolving. Yet there is still some similarities when it comes to coaching.
“It’s about having them understand that it’s not all about winning. Teaching them how to spend their time more effectively. Sometimes it’s not about having the right answer but asking the right questions,” said Staley
Stanley has goals and expectations for the Department of Esports as well as its athletes.
“We’re still a family in here. I still expect them to be outstanding citizens on campus, engage in community service and fundraising,” said Staley
