Josh Furneaux · @Coach_Furndog
2nd May 2019 from TwitLonger
A real thankyou to all of those at Excel!
After a total of about 3 years with Excel I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve achieved together. This was a club that when I started had next to 0 funds, had no standing or reputation in League of Legends whatsoever. Excel back in spring 2016 was struggling to even qualify for the then ESL UK Premiership and lost in the promotion tournament. So from then to now where most recently Excel having finished it’s first split in the LEC taking games off of all but G2 (we all remember how hard they were pushed), Fnatic, Origen and Splyce, The growth that the Excel League of Legends project has exhibited in that time is phenomenal. It’s really hard to thank and include everyone who has been a large contributor in that progression, but I can’t write this without mentioning a few:
- Ryan Barnett (General Manager) – Recruited and signed me for Excel back in 2016 and has had my back ever since, thoroughly trusted my ideas and dealt with every issue thrown at him over the years to ensure Excel’s success.
- Alex Harris (Community Manager) – The baby of the Excel family who has led the direction of Excel from a content and social media perspective, always a smile and always lightens the mood, which is one of the most underrated skills someone can have in high pressure environments.
- Jake Howlett (Vlogger) – The newest member of the Excel family but another young face who just brings energy and fun to every situation, gets along well with everyone and makes the work environment just a nicer place to be.
- Jon Ellis (Performance Coach) – Jon has been someone who has helped me develop as a coach dramatically, he has always given his honest opinion about what I do and thrown ideas of how we can do it differently. He has constantly challenged me over the course of the last 18 months and as a result was a big contributor in the shared vision for Excel from a performance standpoint that was documented throughout the LEC application process. Together we constantly pushed to find more we could do and how we could better what we currently do to get Excel to where it is today.
- Joel Holmes-Darby (Director of Esports) – Joel has always been the sensible one with his feet firmly grounded an absolute pleasure to work with and is the Yin to Kieran’s Yang when it comes to all things Excel. Hold’s Excel values close and has supported me every step of the journey, having full faith in my ability and ideas regarding team and player development.
- Kieran Holmes-Darby (Managing Director) – Kieran is the absolute bull in the china shop at Excel, sometimes his ideas are so out there that you just have to tranquilise him a little bit. Kieran is the person that really reaches for the stars though, has no limit on what he believes Excel can achieve and that mentality really in infectious. Can not thank Kieran enough for fighting my case on multiple occasions and truly believing I have what it takes to make a successful career in coaching.
A final thank you to all of the players who have played for Excel over the past 3 years as well as the staff that I haven’t mentioned above, Every single one of you made a difference and paved the way for the growth that both Excel and myself have experienced. I wish nothing but continued success for Excel and am eternally grateful to have been a part of the Excel family where I have made several true life long friends!