E-sports is a fairly new sports with limited support and popularity and therefore as young eSports contestants in Taiwan (average age from 16-22), they need to put in a lot of efforts to hack a path amidst adverse environment. They are the pioneers for opening the path for others who might follow suit in the future, and right now, members of Gama Bearss are at that stage.
The cruel winning and losing reality of eSPorts, frictions among peers, the opposition from the families, these young contestants faced frustration and failures earlier than most. To give them courage and encouragement to pursue their dreams, to help them overcome difficult predicament and make breakthrough team work, Gamania arranged a special training for Gama Bears in 2010 and 2011 respectively. G!VOICE now takes you back to the past and tells you all about the behind the scene stories of Gama Bears’s exclusive secret trainings!
Secret Training Part 1
Longtan Township, Taoyuan County, March 30-31, 2010
To reinforce the resolution for the team to win the championship, GHQ-CSO,William Chen and the manager of Gama Bears, Alan Chang led the team to Longtan township, Taoyuan County in Taiwan to proceed with a series of strengthening trainings focusing on ‘team spirit’ and ‘immunity against frustration’.The 1st day of the two day training focused on the establishment of team consciousness. Through the relationship between leading and being led, the members rethought their roles in the team. The 2nd day was the self-challenge. Members learned to trust themselves during crucial times and pushed their potentials to make a breakthrough! This is important especially when they face tremendous pressure in the final round of the competition. They learned to demonstrate strength while remaining cool, calm, collected and relied on team spirit to turn any adverse situation around!
Day1: Establish team spirit: Everybody Plays an Important Role
The training included many small sections, such as how to place two nails on top of one erected nail without any external force? The course enabled members to think outside of the box and to learn to communicate with each other and integrate opinions.
▲Walking on the thin rope: each person had to take turn walking on the rope until they reach destination.
▲Walking on the thin rope: when you cannot grab the rope in front of you, you need to rely on teammates’ help to complete the task.
Last task of 1st day: there are two V-shape extended ropes on the ground with two people standing on the ropes. They would start from the tip of the V and see how far they could go on. The person in the middle was to protect them from falling.
As the distance between these two ropes widened, the difficulty level increased. Now they need an extra person to stand in the middle for protection.
Day2: Believe in Yourself and Your Teammate: There’s Nothing You Can’t Overcome
The task on the 1st day was less daunting comparing to the one on the 2nd day! It was matter of life and death so everyone was listening carefully to the coach on safety measure.
Giant Stairs: this task required three people to work together, climbing from the bottom all the way to the top. The higher it gets, the wider the wood panel becomes and more difficult it gets.
Big Swing: all members pulled the person to the peak and the person had to unlock the buckle and swung in the air like a pendulum.
The person appeared in the video was former SF teammate of Gama Bears, Yu-Li, who has now withdrawn from the team.
▲Everyone needed to work together to help all members climb through the 4m high all. After some strategic discussion, all members climbed over the wall successfully!
The Scariest Challenge: Climbing towards 18 meters (6 floor high) high pole. The participant must climb on the 18m pole on his/her own. The pole has a slight 5 degree tilt which increases the fear of the participant as he/she climbs up. Once he/she makes it to the top, he/she has to stand up on top of the pole.
Do you see the handle there? the challenge was to jump forward and grab the handle with your own hands. Initially only 4 out of 14 people were willing to take this challenge. After rounds of mutual encouragement and communication, everyone made it through this difficult challenge!
Circle of Heart: as the training came to an end, everyone held on to a rope that connected all members. Members of Gama Bears felt the immense strength of team work and the ambiance was very touching.
After the two day special training, the participants learned mutual support and respect. They were closer to each other and learned how to solve the problem together. Do you see how their eyes are different now in the picture?
Secret Training Part 2
Caoling Historic Trail (NE Taiwan) and LongMen Kayaking Base, February 28-March 1st, 2011
After the special training in Taoyuan in 2010, Gama Bears took the championship of the 3rd year TeSL. In 2011, many new talents joined Gama Bears so in order for these newbies to get on with the group swiftly and reinforce the team spirit, another two day special training was initiated. This time the training focused on ‘team work’ and ‘willpower’.
The two day special training was named, ‘Up to the Mountain, Down to the Sea’: the 1st day was the mountain part—the Caoling historic trail, and the 2nd day was the sea part—duo kayaking. A year of eSports competition is very long and setbacks are expected. However, how to thrive from failures and get through the rest of the season with strong willpower and take back the points with team efforts is the crucial key to the final victory! This training was set to inspire the members to boost their team spirit and willpower!
Day1: Hang in there with strong will, the joy will be yours after reaching the summit!
The goal for the first day challenge was easy: the whole team must stand on the summit of Caoling historic trail. Before they set off, the coach reminded everyone of safety measure and task allocation.
▲The entrance of Caoling historic train: the beginning of hell…
▲The blazing sun made everyone sweat like pigs.
▲Stairs came one after another.
▲Reaching the rest point, members lay down on the floor but no one quit the task.
▲Someone sprained the ankle, teammate was massaging it to relieve the pain.
▲The number of stairs and total distance was daunting, but under the persistence of willpower, no one gave up. And the result? Beautiful scenery along the way to the top.
▲Finally everyone made it to the top, all the efforts and pain were paid off with indescribable joy!
Day2: Improve Effective Communication, Unite Group Strength
With the sore muscles from the 1st day still in full effect, the 2nd day challenge kicked off immediately: duo kayaking. Before they get to the water, they need to learn the skills and terms of oars.
The skills for duo kayaking lie in the collaboration and coordination between the two. The teammate at the front needs to pay attention to the direction of the water and of the kayak and report the situation whereas the teammate at the back needs to provide necessary momentum and adjust movement according to such information.
If they don’t collaborate well, the kayak will overturn and they will fall into the water.
Final challenge: 8 kayaks lined up, the rear teammates had to stand up.
▲Standing up on the kayak is not an easy task. The wobbling kayak could easily make one fall into the water. They must rely on each other to complete the task smoothly.
▲In the end, all members succeeded the standing challenge, it was a moving moment!
▲All team members completed the two day trainings and strengthened their team spirit and willpower. Go, go go, Gama Bears!