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Learning to work together and adapting to your environment is a necessary skill whether you’re a player or coach.
After two years of coaching foreign teams, Coach Karl “Giee” Barrientos returns to the Philippines to bring his insights to the young AP.Bren squad.
Coach Giee has worked with a wide variety of teams, starting with Bleed Esports in Singapore. He then moved all the way to Russia to coach BB Team and Insilio. Afterwards he jumped continents again to Latin America to coach INFLUENCE RAGE before finally returning home to the Philippines.
Throughout all his travels, Coach Giee emphasized to The GAME that being adaptable and communicative in a new environment greatly helped him when it came to working with foreign teams.
“Kasi parang anak mo ‘yan,” said AP.Bren’s Coach Giee. “Kung hindi mo ipapakita sa kanila ano yung tama, hindi tama yung gagawin nila. Kung ipapakita mo sa kanila ‘yung pangit, pangit ang gagawin nila.“
“So ‘yun ‘yung ginawa ko, na pinakita ko na ganito ‘yung way ko. So kung may pangit, kailangan mo sabihin sa akin. Kailangan mo mag-open up. Pero kung maganda, then tuloy-tuloy ‘yon. Kung maganda ang ginagawa mo, then maganda din ang ibabalik sa iyo.”
There’s a lot to account for when working with people from a different region, according to the coach. Beyond the language barrier, he also had to consider their customs, culture, and even their attitudes towards the game. Coach Giee had to be open to those unique differences in order to gain the trust of his team, especially when it came to food.
“Hindi pwede na pumunta ka doon tapos maarte ka,” said AP.Bren’s Coach Giee with a laugh. “Hindi pwede na ‘yun ‘yung unang impression ng tao sayo, so lahat kinakain ko kahit ayaw ko!”
Bonding Over the Table
On a more serious note, eating and sharing meals was the number one thing that helped Coach Giee bond with his team.
“Lahat ng teams may ibang culture. Sa game, may pag-iiba, sa thinking, may pag-iiba. Pero ang common talaga ay ‘yung pagkain,” said AP.Bren’s Coach Giee. “Pag kumakain, dapat sabay-sabay talaga. Sa dami kong pinuntahan, sa kain talaga nagsasabay at nage-enjoy lahat para mabuo ‘yung bonding.”
As for the region whose food he was most fond of, he had to give it to Latin America.
“Masarap talaga yung beef doon! Tapos hindi mahal ‘yung beef, common talaga yun sa kanila. Sa bootcamp, palagi chicken and beef, minsan lang sila nagpo-pork. Pero yung kanin nila, palagi may beans!”
Banner image courtesy from MOONTON Games.