Fabian Neumann is an eSports mental coach at Hamburger SV and prepares FIFA professionals for their tasks – but he cares about more than just competitive ability.
In November 2018, Hamburger SV announced that it would be entering professional eSports – soon after, the traditional club’s first FIFA team was in place. The North Germans take part in the Virtual Bundesliga (VBL) Club Championship by bevestor and now have various professionals and talents under contract. Fabian Neumann takes care of the psyche of the mostly very young players, we asked the HSV eSports mental coach for an interview.
Fabian Neumann: Mental mentality has always interested and fascinated me. I observed a lot and very early on in myself and others what can actually be influenced by thinking differently and displaying a different attitude. I have been learning more and more since my youth. How to get to a point where I can win the game even on bad days – and everyone has those.
At the end of the day, it’s all about finding solutions. That has helped me a lot. But the psyche and mental hygiene have also interested me in life away from sport. How do we feel good? Which thought patterns are liberating and let us go through the day in a balanced way? What do we need to lead a happy life as we imagine it?
This interest has always been there, but in the last five years it has grown to such an extent that I decided to do this job, which is after all a very rare one.
And how did you get into gaming?
HSV was looking for a mental coach. I found it impressive because eSports is a young sport. The club has positioned itself very professionally in eSports in the last few years and has turned over every stone in this context. So we got talking and just started and saw how it went in the first season. I joined the team in the second half of the last season and it immediately worked very well together. The cooperation with the players is excellent.
What problems do the eSports players, and therefore you, have to struggle with the most?
One is to keep the permanent focus, to really be there for 20 minutes. It’s a peculiarity of eSports that players don’t automatically regulate stress through physical activity. The guys are sitting in front of the console, it’s not like in football that you put on a 30-metre sprint and take something off.
You need the focus in any sport. But in eSports the guys often sit at home, that’s special too. Otherwise, just getting out on the grass or the track prepares you – without you meaning to. In eSports, the environment is often the same, where the players also sleep or eat. That’s where you first have to find the switch to being a FIFA pro.
How do you assess the physical influence on performance?
Physique is an important aspect. Body, mind and soul belong together. If I am physically fit, I am also fresher in the head and feel better. People don’t have to be perfectly trained. It’s about balance and allowing the energies to flow through the body in such a way that optimal tension is possible.
In darts, for example, we have the case that people throw who are not the very best athletes. And that works. Because even darts professionals certainly have certain physical routines to keep themselves fresh. Especially on match days it makes sense to get in some exercise.
It doesn’t have to be two hours in the gym or a marathon. However, I am very impressed that the guys in the HSV eSports team are all very fit and do other sports besides gaming, such as football or fitness.
How much FIFA know-how do you have and how much does it take in your job?
I would say that a certain understanding of FIFA is important, but not crucial for my job. I have enjoyed playing it myself since I was a teenager, but more for fun. I love this competition with friends, but for the big career at the controller my skills would probably not be enough.
But the basic understanding can be important, otherwise you probably won’t understand the drive that athletes have so well. But it wouldn’t necessarily have been bad if I had never played FIFA before I joined HSV. Before I started at HSV, I completely put myself in the players’ shoes. What actually happens there from A to Z? And I can do that even if I’ve never played myself.
If I’ve never done biathlon, for example, it can still make sense to work with a biathlon athlete. Especially because I have a completely different perspective on this sport than people who spend seven days a week on it. It’s often refreshing to adopt a different perspective. Still, it certainly helps if you have a certain basic understanding of the game.
In eSports, most players between 14 and 22 are already going through the peak phase of their career. Do you recognise any problem areas due to the immense pressure on professionals who are still so early in their psychological development?
Basically, the pressure is greater when the eSportsmen play for a well-known club than when they do it just for themselves and are still professionals. The pressure is also great when maybe 5,000 people or more are watching. A 15-year-old can get into a tunnel where he thinks he has to celebrate great successes in order to be accepted and get the recognition of the audience.
If the opposite happens and he receives criticism, it can be difficult at 15, but also at an older age. Even over-30 players can have psychological problems. Realising that this has nothing to do with oneself as a person is hardly possible at that age and therefore more difficult. A lack of success can then have a strong impact on one’s self-worth. It is important not to link self-worth with success, but unfortunately this often happens in sport.
Sportspeople are usually also content creators and regularly stream in front of many viewers. How do you view this interaction?
Again, it’s about evaluation: how much do I depend on what others think about me? This is not a main topic in our coaching. But it can be that someone wants support in this area or I notice that someone is not happy with the content part.
And then of course that is discussed, that is very important. Because health comes first. If we think about the game now, everything is connected. If I’m not happy in the content area, I can’t perform optimally either. The same goes for relationship problems or other ailments. My holistic approach is that everything can and should be discussed in coaching. Because everything can block the overall system.
What mental state, what thought patterns would you like your players to be in five minutes before an important match?
Actually, I just want them to be up for the game. That they trust each other and enjoy the game. Thinking about whether you can do it at all doesn’t help at all. It’s distracting and can inhibit immensely. If there is trust and fun, there is the possibility of getting into a flow.
In conclusion, can you describe how your day-to-day work goes?
We sometimes have seminars and workshops where certain topics are tackled. Before the season, of course, but also during the season. In addition, there are virtual talks that are a bit shorter and remind people of the content or sharpen their senses. And then there is the one-on-one part, for which the players usually approach me.
They contact me and we make an appointment. For this, we either meet at the stadium, they come to my practice or we talk on the phone. It is not a ready-made programme, the appointments are made in consultation with the management and the coach. Together we discuss the needs, I give suggestions on what I think is important at the moment.
Then it comes to an exchange or workshop. Afterwards, we give each other an assessment of what the team still needs and where we want to continue – or whether we should let it sink in for a while. During the season, I have weekly contact with the players, and we maintain a permanent connection with each other.
