League of Legends Coaches Share Secrets to Climbing Ranks

My approach to coaching is based on the following quote: "It's not because you're a good player that you're a good coach'. I strive to help people out and actually make them climb instead of acting tough and shouting at them about their mistakes. Every session starts with a bit of small talk, where both me and my student get a feeling for each other on how we would like to be communicated to. Based on personality, rank, age, ... I alter the session to fit my students' needs.

I play soloqueue in every role and and almost every elo by playing on many different accounts. I test out theories when it comes to new patches and limit test a lot so I can give my students the latest news and trends on the league of legends meta.

Next to playing myself, I invest in research to find out the best 'ways for coaching people' so that I also stay up-to-date with the best ways to help my students understand new things.

Since I'm passionate about League of Legends I also follow most regions when it comes to pro play which also gives me a lot of info on the latest trends, ... .

I also participate in domestic proplay myself from time to time which helps me gain useful insights such as draft specific info, ... .

I will never boost anyone as it not only ruins the games for other people but it also doesn't make sense for the people that request the boost. What's in it for them? The entire goal about ranked in league of legends is to improve, your current rank isn't relevant. It's all about the journey and the improvement so why would anyone want to get boosted in the first place? Instead of investing in boosts, invest in coaching, this way you don't need anyone else to climb for you because now you can do it yourself. Also, a person who's willing to pay someone to boost them in ranked is someone I would never coach as they lack the discipline to climb in league of legends anyway.

A customized improvement plan is far from a good approach in my opinion. I teach people fundamentals and concepts that specifically suit their playstyle and I give them tips on how to implement that knowledge based on what I've seen works with other people I've coached before and what works for me personally.

After a coaching session, my students can send me with any questions and this way I can keep monitoring them instead of giving them a plan that nobody will follow anyway.

Most people will never stick to the method of a plan so they need real-time monitoring rather than a fixed plan. Additionally, a fixed plan will only help demotive people. Instead of showing people if their 'on track or not', show them what they have to do in the moment, as there's always something to work on, and that something constantly changes.

Depends on various factors. I always start with analyzing the student's account (roles, champs, rank, winrate, kda, ...) and ask questions to find out more about my student's mentality, discipline, approach, ... .

Typically for my students in the lower elo bracket (everything below D1) I start with viewing their gameplay from a 'fundemantal scope perspective'. I look at their gameplay and specifially analyze how well they do on the fundamentals and then from there on out I build up the session.

As for my higher elo students, I focus a lot more on on-the-spot (real-time) decision making as this typically tends to be the main struggle for higher elo players.

Of course I will always adapt things to my student.

Observing the student is the key thing here. Analyzing the gameplay is one thing but also listening the the sentences and even the way the student says them is extremely important. Many people who book coaching are rather shy I've noticed and then you really have to dragg information out of them and break the ice to make them really comfortable so that they are willing to fully engage with me to give them the most possible value from our session for example.

However with someone who's more confident and dares to say more things I might have to try and tone them down a bit or give them a different approach. Coaching is as much people skills as it is gameplay and analyzing skills.

1. Introduction/beginner session
This session is ment for people who want to do a quick game review (30-45 min), this way I offer people an accessible option to improve. This session is also great for people who are interested in long-term coaching as this could be a way to communicate with each other and make things clear.

2. In-depth/advanced coaching session
This session is a very in-depth session where people will learn everything they need and they can ask anything they want. These session can easily take up more than 2 hours depending on the student's needs.

3. Monthly training/long-term program
This is a series of session fully tailored to the student's need and typically is booked by people who are very serious about their ranked climb and they want to hit their long-term ranked goal (diamond, masters, ... )

4. Team coaching

For every session I allow people to add friends, ... to the call if they wish too.

Team dynamics are mainly influenced by establishing a good realtion with each other (especially outside of league as well!). I typically let teams play other games than league and organize various events as getting to really know each other is the key to great dynamics within a team.

Knowing how to play of each other is based on how well does everyone know each other's personality, specific charasteristics and specific moments, ... and these things you learn by engaging in genuine fun events and not just in a forced/fixed environment like the ranked queue in league.

Once everybody connects with one another, now is the time time to find that connection with each other on the rift as well, this can be stilmulated by drills, certain tasks, ... .

I treat my students with respect and try to find out what they're open to communication wise by literally asking them and analyzing their speech and actions. I will always establish a good connection with my students before giving them any feedback or give them any sort of advice. Once the connection is made and both me and my student(s) have a feeling for each other on how we would like to be communicated to, now feedback is a pleasant learning moment and not a fixed requirement.

One of my greatest succes stories is coaching (long-term) an amazing guy from the U.K. This person role swapped from jungle to playing midlane while also only playing Vladimir. His long term goal was diamond but trying to hit it while playing a different role and new champion was extremely difficult for this player. After coaching him, he went from gold 1 to diamond 3. This was a player that was either completely obsessed with league or completely done with it, so incosistency what his greatest flaw. However this person was just wired that way and trying to focus on more consistency wasn't the solution in this specific case. So instead we completely accepted the way his brain worked and we focused on going even more extreme with it, which helped a lot. Accepting how his brain works gave him all the confidence to reach his ranked goal. Helping someone in league is amazing but this specific person was so happy with how these tips impacted his real life as well, and I will never forget it

Something like a good coach is very vague as a good coach for you could be a bad coach for someone else. You need to find one that works for you so when hiring a coach, during the first session or introduction try and see if this is going to be a good fit, not just a good coach but really a good fit, does the coach suit your personality, playstyle, ... ? You can also ask the coach before the session after his approach, personality... . Get to know the person behind the coach :). Look for clues in his responses, ... . A good fit with the person 'behind the coach' is an absolute necessity if you want to get a lot of value out of your sessions.