Metaphorical Perceptions of Esports Coaches to the Concept of Esports

Abstract

Esports is a sports branch in which strategies and plans are heavily involved, requires physical and mental effort, has started to interact with modern sports and is based on online games. The aim of this research is to reveal the metaphorical perceptions of trainers, one of the important parts of the branch, towards the concept of esports. A total of 50 coach candidates, 40 male and 10 female, who attended the esports 1st level coaching course, which was held for the first time in our country in 2021, participated in the research. Phenomenology design, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the research. In obtaining the data, a personal information form was applied to each coach candidate, and among the coach candidates, “esports is like/similar to ……; because ...…” were asked to complete the sentence. The data collection tool was implemented by researchers personally. In addition, all participants took part in the study on a voluntary basis. In the analysis of the data, the stages of naming, screening, category development, ensuring validity and reliability, calculating, interpreting and examining the frequencies of the resulting metaphors were followed. Although the fact that computer games are seen as unhealthy is an indicator of bigger problems for esports, it was seen in this study that most of the coach candidates gave positive feedback on the concept of esports. It is recommended to repeat the study in order to determine the coaching needs of esports trainers, which may occur with technological developments, with annual follow-ups.