Although self-regulatory processes are thought to underpin team performance in esports, current research tends to rely on self-reported and retrospective data particularly when examining self-, co-, and socially shared regulation. These methods limit our ability to observe how regulation unfolds during real-time gameplay. The aim of this pilot study was to assess the feasibility of using latent pattern content analysis of League of Legends match transcripts to examine goal systems and their underlying regulatory processes. The objectives were to determine if an event measure approach to regulation, using a latent pattern content analysis, would be suitable in the (a) analysis and mapping of goal systems and (b) for identifying different types of regulatory cycles in esports using match transcriptions. Findings showed that latent pattern content analysis can be used to map goal systems and identify regulatory cycles and phases. This approach offers insight into how teams pursue goals during gameplay. As a pilot study, these findings demonstrate methodological feasibility rather than generalizability across all skill levels or player populations. © 2025 Human Kinetics

Esports is a global industry, with coaches widely regarded as having a pivotal role in facilitating player development and enhancing performance. Despite this, limited research has investigated the developmental experiences of esports coaches and how they are valued by diverse stakeholder groups. Consequently, the aim of this research is to explore global stakeholders’ perspectives towards the developmental experiences of esports coaches. Data were collected via a qualitative online survey completed by 98 participants, representing 28 nationalities, across six esports stakeholder groups (head coach, assistant coach, player, team manager, performance staff, analyst). Following a reflexive thematic analysis process, three themes were generated: (1) Speaking the same language: the importance of playing and knowing the game; (2) Walking the walk: the need for coaching experience to demonstrate competency; and (3) Formal professional learning and development: a bone of contention. By understanding how diverse stakeholders value different developmental experiences, the findings offer unique insights into the contested nature of coach development in esports. This research contributes to the esports coaching literature and provides a foundation for future empirical research into this emerging area, with recommendations and implications for esports coach education and practice discussed. © 2025 by the authors.

While previous research has examined stress in professional esports players, the experiences of amateur esports players have received less attention. Therefore, this interview study, guided by the philosophical framework of critical realism, aimed to explore the stressors and coping strategies of amateur esports players. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 amateur esports players, selected purposefully through contacting esports clubs and social media, to capture diverse perspectives. The data analysis followed the principles of reflective thematic analysis, focusing on identifying stressors and coping strategies based on Leis et al. (2024). We identified a range of stressors, including team stressors (e.g., communica(e.g., technical issues, travel demands), and personal stressors (e.g., balancing life, exam uncertainty). Coping strategies employed by amateur esports players encompass mastery coping (e.g., concentrating, optimizing surroundings), internal regulation (e.g., breathing, meditation), and goal withdrawal strategies (e.g., behavioral disengagement). The study further reports potential avenues for interventions, such as fostering positive team environments, promoting effective communication, and offering training in coping techniques tailored to the unique demands of esports. While the present study focuses on amateur esports players, our findings may contribute to a deeper understanding of stress and coping in esports and offer practical implications for enhancing well-being and performance in this competitive domain.

This study investigates the impact of break frequency on students' attention and quiz performance during university classes, grounded in cognitive load theory and the concept of spaced learning. Involving 253 second-year undergraduates, it reveals significant effects of break conditions on performance, with micro-break participants outperforming others and sustaining better performance over time. The study employed a mixed-methods design, comparing traditional break periods with more frequent micro-breaks. Results showed that while performance declined across seminars for both conditions, aligning with vigilance literature, the micro-break condition exhibited more consistent performance. These findings contribute to our understanding of cognitive load management and the spacing effect in educational settings. The study highlights the importance of addressing attention spans in classrooms and suggests that incorporating micro-breaks may enhance students' engagement and academic achievement. Implications for instructional design in higher education are discussed, offering evidence-based strategies for educators to optimize the learning experience. Copyright © 2025 Sharpe, Trotter and Hale.

The relationship between computer games and academic learning has been a topic for research and debate over decades. Here, we present an updated, theory-driven experimental design for assessing how specific skills that players train in commercial computer games may transfer and be subsequently applied to study-relevant tasks in a school context. As theoretical starting points, we posit that i) skills transfer from such seemingly disparate domains as gaming and studying can be better understood on the metacognitive level of self-regulation of one’s progress towards a goal, and ii) what drives learning in both domains can be understood in terms of their “core mechanics”, or means of interaction, towards this goal. Drawing from the evidence-based approaches described by Schwarz et al. (2016), we identified specific core mechanics for learning in the popular esport game League of Legends (LoL). Whilst a multiplicity of learning mechanisms are present in computer gaming, we focus on deliberate practice as an overarching concept for the driving interactions for learning that can be empirically investigated. We describe how students’ use of these learning mechanics can be assessed empirically by observing how students plan, perform and reflect upon a study task. Our hypothesis is that training these strategies from computer gaming can facilitate their application to studying, by means of skills transfer from one domain to the other. We present a tentative experimental design of how this can be assessed, and hence proper supports be developed, by observing how students engage in self-guided deliberate practice in the game (LoL) and in their academic studies, respectively.