In 2021 the Tőled Hallottam blog sat down with me for a longer conversation about Afterglow Esports. I said then what I still believe: esports is one of the best tools for competency-based learning. I continue that work as Attila Rezes, the same person who led the club as its executive.
Afterglow was founded in 2018 so that competing, training and community would have a real frame. We did not only want to field a team. We wanted a place where a player can learn, measure themselves, and not stay alone at the screen. Besides League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics, what mattered was that the training could be reached online, not only in one room in one city.
Many people still treat esports as kids “just sitting”. I keep pushing back on that. The game is a chain of decisions, adaptation, communication and managing emotion. In traditional sport some of the tension can leave the body. Here, during a match, it is almost only mental. That is why our sessions teach more than lanes and roles: how to stay calm, and how to work as a team.
Mental and physical state do not split. Someone who is well inside and out concentrates better and solves problems better. I look at esports with a sport-science head as well, not only as a player or a club lead.
The full conversation appeared in Tőled Hallottam’s Civil Körkép series in 2021.
https://toledhallottam.hu/index.php/civilk/civil-interjuk/afterglow-esport
