5. Map Overview

THIS IS THE ONLY TIME PLAYERS ENTER THE SERVER. An in-game strategist takes everyone through the map and identifies key areas with names. I strongly agree each team having specific names for a wide area of locations on each map. Stick to themes like countries, kitchen utensils or even name spots after other CS player. It doesn't matter which approach you take as long as everyone is on the same page. It is important that the team as a whole has a unity when it comes to communication. Each player has 5 pairs of eyes and ears, one for themselves and 4 for their teammates, they need to communicate as though they can see and hear for their teammates. Using themes is just an easier way to remember things.

Also go through “priority points”, where are the important areas/spots on the map that the team must try at all cost to control? What are the priority flashes/smokes/grenades that need to be thrown when entering a certain bombsite? The purpose of priority points is that it allows players to know what they need to do/throw when in situations unfamiliar or not prepared for.


6. Key Points

When going through tactics and strategies, always reiterate the REASONING behind it. What is the purpose of having a sniper at long A pit during T-side default set up?

There’s always a purpose to a certain flash or a smoke when hitting a bomb site, what’s the reasoning to it, why must it be done?

When playing a passive strategy on offensive side, what kind of mind games are you trying to play with the opponent? What are they key points that your teammates need to know when they take up their positions?


7. Dry runs

Practice rushes and setups as though you’re in a match. As obvious as it may seem, teams don’t do it because it’s boring. what’s more boring however, is when they screw up in a match because they didn’t practice enough dry-runs.

A problem that many players have when in a match is that they think too hard about their tactics and what they need to do and completely forget about playing the game. By doing dry-runs it allows things to become “natural” for the players when doing setups and rushes.

Also, practice playing 2v2 or 3v2 for specific bombsite coverage or attacks to see if there are any flaws or problems with the coordination or tactic.

You want everything to be perfect in dry runs, because in the match it’ll never be perfect.


8. Scrimmage

THE FUN PART!! Understand that things would never be perfect on the first few runs. The purpose of the scrimmage is to imply what was just learnt. If necessary, even doing the same tactic over and over again just to get it down is alright. The key is not just to win the scrim, the key is to get everything down perfectly as well as to gain experience on what situations may happen during a tactic so that you win the match, not the scrim.

9. Feedback

Discussion time! What needs to be changed with a tactic? If necessary and if time allows, precede back to step 7 and do dry-runs again.

Are there certain aspects of the game a certain player has to work on or a specific tactic that everyone’s not comfortable with and needs to be removed from the playbook?

Take a good chunk of practice time to feed back on what just went on. It’s completely wasteful if we spend 3-4 hours practicing and scrimming without taking in any knowledge at the end of the day. Everyone should have something to input to the discussion at the end of the night, if not then it just shows they weren’t paying attention in practice.


10. Scheduling

It is pointless for non-professional teams to have a strict practice schedule for the month. Players just can’t make it sometimes because they have other priorities to attend to.

At the end of practice always have every player decide on the next date/time for the next practice, make sure it fits everyone’s schedule and remind them either by leaving the date on the topic in the private channel or on the ventrilo MOTD.

The fact that all the players agreed to a specific date/time means there shouldn’t be much of an excuse not to show up. Then again, sometimes they really can’t make it due to sudden issues, if that’s the case they’ll just have to catch up with things.