The Long Game
Almost a decade inside professional esports. A basketball background. A lot of reading, coaching and competing along the way. This is where I write freely about performance, the mind and health — not as an expert, just as someone with a perspective worth sharing. (P.S. The confirmation email and welcome email may land in your spam or junk folder. Worth checking if you don't see them arrive.)
Welcome — And a Quick Word on Who I Am
Thanks for being here. I want to use this first piece to introduce myself, explain what this newsletter is, and be upfront about what it is not.
A bit about me
I have spent close to a decade working as a mental performance coach inside professional esports organisations. Before that, I played basketball at collegiate level in the United States and at a low-tier professional level in Europe, and spent around ten years working in education. I have also coached basketball across youth and senior level teams throughout the years.
That combination of experiences — competing, coaching, working in education, and spending years inside professional esports — is the foundation everything I write here comes from.
I want to be honest about something, though. I do not have a formal degree in sports psychology. I am not a certified nutritionist or fitness trainer. My journey has been one of self-education: reading widely, learning by doing, and constantly re-evaluating what I thought I knew. I do not pretend to be an expert on any of the topics I write about.
What I do believe is that I have earned the right to a perspective — and that perspective is what this newsletter is about.
What this newsletter is
I am starting this because I have reached a point in my career and my life where I genuinely want to share what I have been thinking about, and where I finally feel like I have enough behind me to make that worth your time.
Some pieces will come from the perspective of a coach and might offer you a new angle on how to develop yourself, another person or a team. Others will simply be me thinking out loud about something I have read, experienced or been sitting with — not trying to teach you anything, just sharing how I see it.
The topics I will cover include mental performance, personal development, health, fitness and all things esports. I will draw heavily from my experience inside professional esports because that is where I feel most qualified to speak, but my hope is that much of what I write will be relevant beyond that world too.
One disclaimer worth making upfront: I write long. I am not interested in quick takes or bullet-pointed shortcuts. If you are looking for fast answers, this probably is not the right place. But if you are willing to set aside a few minutes every other week and engage with something properly — I hope you will get something out of it.
Who this is for
This newsletter is for anyone genuinely curious about the mental side of performance and personal development. That includes casual gamers, esports fans, aspiring players or coaches, and people already working in or around competitive gaming who want a different perspective on things. You do not need to be a professional to find value here. You just need to be interested.
Why now
Honestly? I am more curious now than I have ever been — more hungry to learn, to dig into topics I have been thinking about for years, and to connect with people who care about the same things I do. This newsletter gives me a reason to go deeper, and a place to share what I find when I do.
I am glad you are along for it.