Paris (AFP)

Recently arrived in the French esports club Vitality as performance director, the former tennis player Thierry Ascione was recruited to "bring the values ​​of traditional sport to esport", he explains in a interview with AFP.

The current coach of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet, who discovers the world of video game competitions, first got to work with the Counter-Strike training in order to "optimize emotional, mental qualities and physical "of gamers, including during the confinement period.

Q: How did your collaboration with Vitality come about and what is your role in the structure?

A: "Common knowledge in sport and esport put me in contact with Fabien Devide, the co-founder of Vitality (main esport team in France, editor's note). He was looking for someone to structure the performance and bring the values ​​of traditional sport to esport. We have a common vision of the game, of performance, (to) try to optimize the emotional, mental, physical qualities of the players. I surrounded myself with people with whom I work in other disciplines and we started this adventure. Our role is not focused on the specificity of video games, that's all there is: do everything so that when players land on their seats , take their mouse and keyboard, everything is in place. "

Q: Do you see any parallels with the world of sport?

A: "Apart from the physical dimension, it is identical. Today, esport is a sport of emotion, of adaptation, it is a discipline of communication, relationships with others, self-confidence, trust in others, collective appreciation, questioning. There are many things that come together. Who says high level, says pressure, tension and emotion. Whatever the discipline, we must deliver the best possible performance. "

Q: Are the players receptive to this speech?

A: "They are very keen, they are very receptive to this. When we are dealing with people who are very strong in their discipline, we must take the time and explain that yes, they are already very strong, but by evolving or changing some things, they can be even more. So there is a real communication work. (Shortly after the start of our collaboration), they won a competition in Moscow, so that validated the work that had been done. said to themselves: we have changed 2-3 little things and we are already winning, so if we change a lot of things, what will it be? "

Q: Are you surprised by the level of professionalization in the esports world?

A: "Everyone develops his passion, there are those who play golf, others in music and some in video games. All professional players today were passionate at heart, like me I was tennis, it's just that they became very strong in their passion and that made it very professional. When you see the craze around it, it's quite confusing and at the same time quite exceptional. "

Q: Sports competitions were disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic and had to go online. Did this affect your work?

A: "There are fewer competitions so fewer trips, the players are more family. We took advantage of this to work. We are always trying to adapt. During the matches, the players are each At home, so they are all stressed that their internet line does not cut 5 minutes before a match. They must organize their individual time, which also allows them to work on empowerment, which is essential when you want to be successful in a discipline. To communicate with each other, there is no body language, looks, so it's missing 2-3 additional elements but it's the same for everyone, you have to adapt. They are lucky to continue work and make their passion while others are more in trouble. "

Interview by Diane FALCONER

© 2020 AFP