If you missed baka's first piece on gaming organizations, you can read it here.

One problem with many non-professional teams is establishing a disciplinary way for team practicing. Teams often sit in ventrilo until there are 5 players and scrim. Other teams have a strict team practice schedule in which no one ever shows up to. Then there are some who gather everyone to practice prior to match nights, and hope they do well.

There is no way to improve your team without practice. Here are ten easy, but essential, steps to a successful team practice routine:


1. Positive focus

This is when each and every member first provides a positive focus to the team, whether it’s something about their individual game, something about last practice or even some amazingly random superuber shot they made in a pug.

The reason for this is simple, sharing and providing a positive atmosphere raises the motivation of everyone on the team. It tunes our brain into what is about to take place and it also raises the spirit of everyone around.

Something as simple as “I one deaged this CAL-I player on an ESEA pug today!” is enough to show that you care enough about the team to share your thoughts and feelings. This is unconscious psychology, we may not be aware of it but we are in fact raising team spirit.


2. Review

It is important that practices follow through to the next. It is pointless if teams practice something one day and move on to something completely different the next without any slight hint of reminding everyone about the prior.

Review last practice! Did anyone forget what positions they take on CT side? Does everyone remember the priority points? Does anyone have questions about the B rush?

It’s imperative to make sure everyone remembers clearly what went on last practice so it eventually transfers the data from our short term memory to the long term.


3. Agenda

Having an agenda is really important, a practice must be structured and it must be time-managed. Players need to know what is going to be practiced today, what topics are going to be talked about, how long everything is going to take so they can leave practice and head off to bed, or maybe make other plans.

The agenda should include everything the team’s going to do for the practice. It is also the best time to talk about other relevant issues. Maybe about the server bill, about an upcoming LAN event or even a short discussion on picking up a new player, etc.


4. Topic talk

Leaders must practice the ability to give talks. Choose a topic to talk about each practice, amplify the significance of in-game communication or talk about the importance of positions and angling.

The purpose of the topic talk is to choose a topic relating to the MENTALITY of the game, since you can’t practice mentality then the only way is to become aware of it. This improves the player’s consciousness in-game as well as their teamwork. This part of the practice must be done by one person only; everyone should just listen and keep questions until later. It’s not a debate, it’s not a discussion – if anything it’s just a prep talk done by coaches before games.