The culture of amateur esports in Denmark is dominated by a culture where physical activity is often neglected. Studies have however shown that physical activity is beneficial in developing skills that are relevant to esports such as communication, problem-solving and emotional regulation. The aim of this study was to examine the coaches’ and young players' experiences of whether game-specific physical activity could help develop the aforementioned skills relevant to esports.
Three esports teams participated in the study, which included involvement in five training sessions where game-specific physical activity was implemented in three of these sessions. The empirical data included observations and interviews.
Results showed that coaches and players enjoyed the activities implemented in the study and further expressed that they felt the activities beneficial regarding their skills as esportplayers. Players and coaches expressed the activities as beneficial regarding their communication- and problem-solving skills, while emotional regulation was expressed to a lesser extent. Furthermore, it became apparent that these skills had to be facilitated by a coach during the activities to improve the likelyhood of the beneficial effects occuring.