E-sports Asian Games champion coach Ji Xing: A good coach can bring players a sense of security
At this year's Hangzhou Asian Games, e-sports will become an official event for the first time.
In fact, as early as 2018, e-sports appeared in the Asian Games in the form of performance projects. At that Asian Games, Ji Xing, as the head coach, led the Chinese team to beat the South Korean team 3:1 in the finals of the League of Legends project and won the gold medal.
Ji Xing was born in Xuzhou, Jiangsu, and is currently preparing for the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games League of Legends project.
In an interview with the Yangtze Evening News/Ziniu News reporter, Ji Xing said with a smile, "When I first went to an e-sports club ten years ago, it felt like a dark Internet cafe hidden in a residential building. In recent years, e-sports The industry is developing rapidly, and many clubs have an independent commercial building.”
Text｜Yangtze Evening News/Ziniu News reporter Jiang Tiansheng Photos provided by interviewees
Musical master cross-border e-sports, becoming the only double-crowned coach in China
Ji Xing was born in 1990 and was admitted to the Music Department of Yancheng Normal University in 2008.
During college, Ji Xing won the second-class scholarship once and the third-class scholarship three times.
In 2010, Ji Xing participated in the male chorus "Fishermen's Cheers in Changgang" and won the first prize of the 2nd Jiangsu University Art Exhibition.
In 2011, Ji Xing joined the Communist Party of China.
"Ji Xing performed outstandingly in all aspects during his school days. He was lively, cheerful, enthusiastic and generous, helpful, and his professional level was among the best." Wu Linxiang, the then deputy dean of the Yanshi Conservatory of Music, commented on Ji Xing.
Many friends wondered that music and e-sports coaches were not much related, Ji Xing explained, "My parents said that when boys grow up, they should make more efforts, so when I went to college, I thought about it, I want more Try it." At that time, Ji Xing had no knowledge of the e-sports industry, let alone future plans. He just felt that there were international competitions in this project, and there were also participating teams in China, which was very cool.
During his senior year of internship, Ji Xing contacted an e-sports professional club, "I want to see why these professional players are so good, how they train and live." In this way, Ji Xing entered the e-sports industry step by step. , become a data analyst.
Talking about the feeling of just arriving at the e-sports club, Ji Xing laughed and said that the club at that time was like a "black Internet cafe", "In a darkened room in a residential building, we pulled the network cable by ourselves, and there were several computers inside. They train and eat here.” Ji Xing said that at that time, the domestic e-sports industry was still in its infancy, which gave him the opportunity, “Let a newcomer like me find a foothold in it and promote it together with everyone. The formalization and professionalization of the domestic e-sports industry.”
Facts have proved that "student tyrants" are "student tyrants" wherever they go.
Ji Xing, who just entered the industry in 2012, led TeamWE to win the first world championship of the Chinese League of Legends project. The players of the team at that time said that it was like his team had one more team than his opponent. "Ji Xing often worked overtime to watch various events, and then Analysis, he always has a way to help us improve, there is always a way to restrain our opponents. In life, he takes care of us very much, and there are differences and conflicts in our team, and he always has a way to resolve them.” At that time, the podium did not allow non-players On the stage, TeamWE invited Ji Xing from the audience to the team to share the glory as soon as they won.
In 2014, Ji Xing joined the EDG team as the head coach. In 2015, Ji Xing led the team to win the MSI Mid-Season Invitational Championship and became the only domestic coach with a double championship.
In the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, Ji Xing led the Chinese team to win the gold medal in the League of Legends project.
In addition, Ji Xing also led the team to compete in big and small domestic events, and the honors are countless.
In recent years, Ji Xing has gradually transformed behind the scenes, training the coaching staff and other e-sports practitioners.
The coach Yang Jisong, who led EDG to win the championship last year, is Ji Xing's "disciple". "When I was the head coach in 2015, Yang Jisong joined the coaching staff. He has a relatively high education and has been a professional player, which made him grow rapidly. Coupled with his excellent organizational skills and logic, it can be said that he is a very comprehensive coach."
When encountering difficulties, cross the river by feeling the stones, and bluntly said that the coach should give the players a sense of security
Ji Xing told Ziniu News that coaches in both the e-sports industry and the traditional sports industry will encounter two major problems. The first is to select people, and the second is to train people.
"Talents need channels, and the establishment and maintenance of this channel is a complicated and tedious process. After a newcomer enters the industry, as a coach, you must face players of different ages, levels, personalities, and styles, and teach students according to their aptitude." Xing said that the biggest problem at the time was that these difficulties had no "learning from the past" in the e-sports circle. They could only cross the river by feeling the stones and then sum up.
In an event, Ji Xing met Lang Ping, who is also a gold medal coach in team sports. He asked the champion coach of the women's volleyball team how to choose and run the team.
Lang Ping told him that it may not be suitable to choose the six strongest people. First, choose a docile person who is willing to serve everyone as the core, and then find five people who can surround him according to this core.
This gave Ji Xing a lot of inspiration, "Lang's guidance is very innovative. Generally, we think that docile players are more suitable for Luye, and she thinks that they can be used as the core and commander of a team."
In Ji Xing's view, the most important thing for a coach is to have a sense of responsibility and to give players a sense of security.
"Players spend most of their time at the club, so you have to be like a teacher during training, and you have to be like a parent on weekdays." In addition, the head coach's work is very intensive, and patience is also essential.
"And then there is leadership. Many times you must be determined and not entangled." Ji Xing said that the situation on the field is changing rapidly, and a coach can't show it no matter how flustered and entangled in his heart, "A good coach must be able to It gives players a sense of security, both on and off the field."
Although the current e-sports industry audience and participating groups are gradually increasing, Ji Xing believes that whether he can become a professional e-sports player requires two aspects of talent and family support.
"We need professional players to have extremely high game talents, such as top operation and reaction ability, as well as a unique understanding and understanding of the game. In addition to choosing the path of e-sports players, I think the support and understanding of the family is also essential. Less."
Love pets and skin care, the champion coach also has a gentle side
Chen Yanlin, vice-chairman of the National Federation of Electronic Sports Associations, said, "E-sports is about fairness, teamwork, challenge and confrontation, while online games are mainly about entertainment." Ji Xing's ten years in this industry is also the domestic e-sports industry. In the past ten years of eliminating misunderstandings and rapid development, the "dark Internet cafes" clubs that were once hidden in residential buildings have moved into independent commercial buildings one after another.
"In the early days of the industry, we all didn't know what to do or how to work. At that time, the attention of e-sports was low, and many people thought that engaging in e-sports was playing games and was a teenager who is addicted to the Internet." Ji Xing said, Today, whether it is the professionalism of the practitioners, the arrangement and exposure of the event, or the public recognition, it has long since changed.
"Now the e-sports industry has spawned many new types of jobs, giving young people a variety of choices. Like last year's EDG championship, including this year's upcoming Asian Games, it also has a certain social influence." Ji Xing said that now Those who enter the e-sports industry can use the experience of their predecessors as a reference, and the road will be smoother and smoother.
Now all parties attach great importance to sustainable development, "Recently, I participated in the training camp of the League of Legends mobile game professional league players, and I served as the 'battalion commander' in this event to help players transition from a gamer to a professional player, improve the Players' cognition of the professionalization of e-sports can help players improve from various dimensions such as physical fitness, mental health, career planning, etc. To improve players' soft power, it is also guiding the e-sports industry to be better, better, and more positive. to develop.”
However, Ji Xing believes that there are still some problems in the current e-sports industry. "The construction and ecology of the professional player system have been done very well, but the training of coaches and other practitioners needs to be improved." Ji Xing said bluntly, At present, the number and quality of domestic e-sports coaches and other practitioners are only at an initial stage. Ji Xing believes that the next stage of the ecological development of competition training requires the establishment and improvement of the ecosystem of coaches and other practitioners.
"Establishing home field awareness is also what we need to do now." Ji Xing said that now e-sports clubs will choose cities to land and build their own arena.
"Some traditional sports events such as football and basketball attach great importance to the cultivation of home field awareness, which can bring a sense of belonging to the audience, and some even give a city a new business card."
Ji Xing loves to sing, "I have done two things so far, one is music, and the other is to engage in e-sports. Now the latter has become my job. My hobby." Ji Xing's work pressure is very high, keeping cats and dogs makes him relax physically and mentally, by chance, Ji Xing came into contact with beauty makeup, which allowed him to find a new way to relieve stress, "I think skin care can be Makes my mood and state better." Ji Xing said that e-sports, pets, and beauty were all encountered by chance, and then became curious, so they wanted to study, and slowly began to learn in the process of research. I liked it, and over time it became my hobby.
When it comes to the future, Ji Xing expressed the hope that the e-sports industry can get a more accurate understanding and eliminate misunderstandings.
"I also hope that the internal ecology of our industry will be more perfect, that it can provide more jobs for the society, that it can collide with all walks of life, and that it can deliver more positive energy to the society, win glory for the country, and play a certain role in cultural output. "
Quick question and answer
T = Jiang Tiansheng J = Ji Xing
T Do you still play games?
J plays, but time is running out.
My current status is the general manager of EDG, and I am more focused on training coaches and managers, and I have been exposed to a lot of games.
I now learn more about a game from coaches and managers than from playing it myself.
When T first entered the e-sports industry, did the family support it?
J To be honest, my family didn’t know about me when I first entered the e-sports industry. They only knew that I was an internship outside my senior year.
They didn't know until I got my first world title.
T What is your main job currently?
J My core job is still in the club's training department, using my experience to help the club's coaches and managers grow, so that they can find their own position and clear their future career plans.
Outside of the club, I am always ready to do my part in the construction of the e-sports training ecosystem.
T Can you talk about how you approach work and life?
J Actually, I am a person who spends most of my life time on work. At present, my life is closely related to work.
Simple personal life time is relatively small.
Netizens call you a "living fossil" in the League of Legends world, what do you think?
J I have been in the industry for ten years and am still active in the front line.
I think our group of people has the obligation to set an example for the younger generation, help them grow better, and promote the better development of the industry.