MAD Lions Head Coach James “Mac” MacCormack talks us through his rookie team’s 2020 accomplishments, his coaching philosophies, and his approach to talent scouting and player development.
Follow Mac at twitter.com/MacCLoL
Follow Tim at twitter.com/TimSevenhuysen
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Show Notes
- 0:00 Introduction
- 2:48 Perspective on MAD Lions’ overall achievements in 2020
- 4:58 – Relating Structure and Environment/Experience to success of the year
- 6:20 – Messaging to give your team in difficult situations
- 9:00 – Coaching isn’t just about the game; messaging at worlds when losing
- 11:10 – Looking back on good moments
- 12:35 – Using negative feelings and losing as motivators
- 13:30 Mac’s background for getting into coaching LoL
- 14:10 – Working with Intz, doing analysis/scouting
- 17:24 – Skillsets, improvement, and development as a coach along career
- 21:50 Building out the MAD Lions roster
- 25:25 – Scouting and free agency during the regular season
- 26:50 – Other players that MAD Lions was scouting in 2020?
- 28:15 – Talent in Europe
- 29:55 – Skills vs. underlying qualities for development (nature/nurture)
- 33:09 – Prioritizing individual skill vs. team fit
- 35:49 – How much can play style and champion pool be taught?
- 39:30 – Can certain play styles be taught/learned more easily?
- 42:38 Expected growth vs. overachievement for MAD Lions
- 43:54 – How explicitly does Mac set expectations for his players?
- 46:20 – Goal setting and targets for 2021
- 49:20 Mac’s predictions for World Championships Finals
- 50:30 – JDG’s play style
- 52:50 Questions from Patreon
- Joshua Gutman: How did MAD Lions come together so quickly as a cohesive unit? When did you start to believe it was something real instead of just potential?
- 55:11 Outro