SHU · @shuseph
24th Jul 2019 from TwitLonger
an update
i didn't think it was gonna be necessary to tweet one of these out but due to the frequency of questions, i figured it's probably best to clear the air - I’ll try to keep it relatively short and sweet. as of July 14th (stage 3), I’m no longer working with the Shock as an analyst.
i joined the Shock back in October and worked closely with the coaching staff, behind the scenes, to provide support as needed. having coached a few different teams by that point, i was excited to take on an opportunity that catered well to my slightly unique personal circumstances which made it very difficult to justify pursuing overwatch as a full time commitment. while the responsibilities and obligations surrounding an analyst generally differ greatly from that of a coach, I was fairly confident that this was an opportunity I’d enjoy given my experience coaching and my understanding of the game.
unfortunately, being a fresh engineering graduate and trying to juggle a full-time job while also trying to consistently provide value to the coaching staff proved to be a bigger hurdle than I expected. while the workload was certainly manageable during the pre-season, putting in ~80h a week between both my obligations during the season took a pretty quick toll and started to negatively impact my output across both fronts. coupled with a few other issues and with my frustration mounting, I came to the realization that I was also finding no enjoyment working as an analyst since it removed me from what I had enjoyed about coaching in the past and after a lot of thought, I informed the team that I’d be stepping down.
as with anything, there were certainly ups and downs and things that i was unhappy with/wish went differently but overall, I had a generally positive experience. the coaches have done a fantastic job of putting together a well-rounded and relatively meta-resistant team and have succeeded in fostering a strong winning culture within the team. while stage 4 might include some growing pains for teams across the league, I have no doubt that shock will continue to find success in the long term with the three brains at the wheel, despite super's best (and frequent) attempts.
as for my role in overwatch moving forward, I’m unsure what the future holds. I’ve received some interest and considered actively pursuing other opportunities within owl but with a long term goal of getting my p.eng licensing, I’m unsure that these two objectives have any sort of reasonable middle ground. having been a part of the community for the better part of 3 years, it’s certainly going to be weird taking a step back and if the circumstances line up, I may even take up actively coaching again.
as a closing thought, I’ve had the privilege of working with a lot of different players and staff over these 3 years and I only hope I’ve been able to positively impact those I’ve worked with during that time. excited to continue watching the future of the league, no matter my involvement.