Interview With New DIG Heroes Coach - Who Is Nabby?

After securing the second European spot for BlizzCon we heard Team Dignitas captain James "Bakery" Baker praising the work of the team's new coach, but who is this new coach? We sat down with Joseph "Nabby" Magdaong to learn more about him.

Everyone is excited to get to know you better, so start with telling us a bit about yourself, who is Nabby?

Nabby: I’m Canadian and I’m very new to the scene, I remember when I was announced (As the coach for Team Dignitas) people were like who is this guy? We have never really heard of him. Basically, who I am is I’m a very passionate Heroes gamer. I’m an avid HGC watcher, I’m a big fan of the game in general, especially the esports scene. I’ve been competitive in other MOBAs as well but this is the first time I’m involved with the esports scene for any of these games I have been part of, at least anything as big as this. So yea... I'm one of the few lucky, passionate Heroes players that have been given an opportunity to be part of the competitive scene.


If we focus on gaming, can you tell us what is your gaming history? What games have you dabbled in?

Nabby: I really started being a gamer when I met friends who were also into it. We went from console gaming to pc gaming, and we pretty much played anything and everything we could together. We found Dota, and that's when we really started being competitive about video games. We became intrigued about making this more than a hobby. So that's where I started. I also played League of Legends and Dota 2 semi-competitively. I was part of an amateur team for Dota 2. We didn’t get too far though, we still played casually until Heroes came out and I was hooked. And here we are.


The name Nabby is maybe not widely known in the Heroes community. What have you done in Heroes in the past?

Nabby: I would imagine my name not to be very recognizable at all in the community. I tried streaming, I tried being active on Reddit but nothing really clicked. Like I said, I have always been a gamer, I've always been watching these high level matches. So that's what I focused on, playing and understanding Heroes at the highest possible level for me whenever I could. So yes, my name won’t be recognizable now, but hopefully through my work with Team Dignitas and the results we achieve it will be in the future.


Everyone has different opinions on the more than 70 unique playable heroes in the game, who are some of your personal favorite heroes?

Nabby: I think we are definitely in the warrior pool. I love playing Leoric, Johanna and even Artanis, back in the day. I enjoy playing beefy frontlines that can also trade punches. It's exciting and I find Heroes as a MOBA that really allow these warrior type characters to have a more impactful role compared to other titles. Not only do you set up the fight, you also have the tools to dictate how it goes, and to some extent how it ends. I find that very interesting, that level of impact that would be lacking in a similar role in other games.

(Photo credit: Dreamhack)

Let’s focus on coaching for a bit, What is your experience in coaching?

Nabby: So when I mentioned I had played briefly in the amateur scene for Dota 2, that would be the closest experience I had to esports and coaching. I worked with my team and captain to really look at the draft and game and try to incorporate different things. Going through replays and discussing how to improve. In terms of gaming scene that was my biggest experience, but I have also been fortunate enough to be allowed leadership roles in my different employments. In terms of working with groups of people and leading, that's where my experience and knowledge really developed from.


We are starting to see more and more coaches popping up in the scene, why do you think coaches are important in Heroes of the Storm?

Nabby: I think it’s going to be very important especially as the scene gets bigger and bigger and more organizations come in. I think coaches are an important and integrative role because Heroes as a whole is so macro based and decision based that it’s not necessarily only on the players anymore to be mechanically skilled. That's not the biggest focus when you play Heroes, not only you need to play well but you also have to play smart. Know what to do and how to do those things.I think that is where the coaches step in. Having a trusted and reliable outside perspective to help and improve on those things is important, because it’s very easy to be the same group of 5 people, doing the same things over and over again and it’s easy to get trapped in that mindset, and you need a 6th, or a 7th person even to say “Hey, maybe you are looking at this the wrong way, can we try something different?”. That’s what I try to offer and I think that’s a big part of what coaches in general can offer, having a trusted and reliable voice in your group of 5, especially since you don’t get to speak to your team in-game. It's really all on them so it's a coach's job to make sure they’re well equipped in those matches.


Why did you choose to become a coach?

Nabby: Ideally I would have loved to play professionally, but with my situation in terms of time commitment, that’s not something I could see for myself. At the time I just couldn’t commit to that situation, and when the coach position opened up I got really intrigued as coaching is something I have been interested in, and now there was an opening at a team that I highly regard in the game that I love. I thought this would be the best way to step into this world that I always wanted to be part of, but never had the chance to.


Many teams have been looking for coaches lately, what does it mean to you to be part of Team Dignitas now?

Nabby: Honestly, it’s been a very awesome experience so far, I've been very blessed. Being given this opportunity by Team Dignitas, I know they’re taking a big chance on me especially being such an unknown to this point in the community and professional scene. But I'm very grateful that they took that chance, I would love to prove that they made the right decision and provide results that we can all be proud of. It means a lot to me.


A coach can have many responsibilities for their team, what is your job as a coach for Team Dignitas?

Nabby: Walking into this group I already had the mindset that I didn't need to actively try to make big changes. They were all already strong and smart individual players. As a group those strengths are just further amplified. But things haven't been going well as of late, so I wanted to primarily focus on things that are outside the game. I looked at the social construct of the team and how they communicate with each other. We have also started to look at our team culture and environment, and how that affects stress management for the players. Besides that, I do also try to provide my insights for the draft, in-game plays and scrims. But the main focus at this moment is making sure the players are as physically, mentally and emotionally ready as possible when stepping into the game.

(Photo credit: Dreamhack)

If you look at each individual player, what are their strengths? And what would you like to help them improve on?

Nabby: Let's start with Bakery, being the Team captain and always at the forefront for the team. I think Bakery makes a really great team captain, he always has the right attitude, the right mindset, and knows how to pursue things that would be beneficial for his squad. I want to support him into translating that strength into something we can incorporate in-game as well.

Snitch is an amazing player, just watching him especially on those playmaking roles is a beautiful thing in the way he goes about it. I think that his biggest strength as a player is that he is very hungry for improvement, he is always striving to improve. We have talked about why he does what he does, and he would say that he is trying to find his limits and find ways to pass those limits. I think as an athlete this is important, and his way of going about it is very inspiring for everyone, being it as a coach, player or anyone, seeing how he work on this. 
In terms of what I think I can help him with, he is very playful with the risk vs reward situation. What I would ask of him as his coach is, as long as he is smart about the risks that he takes, he needs to make sure that the rewards are equal to those risks.   

JayPL is probably one of the smartest guys about this game, and I think that's something that flies under the radar for a lot of people. He's very calculating about our drafts, and how they translate to in-game for our strategies. He's always the one to watch the whole VOD of our scrims, looking for information, places of improvement, for perfection. What I'm trying to work on with JayPL at the moment is his communication. I think as the shotcaller and main drafter for the team, he has a lot of great ideas that I would like him to be able to share to the whole squad. That way we can keep improving together as a unit.

Mene's greatest strength is that when he's performing well, especially on those heroes he enjoys, there are very few situations where anyone or anything can stop him. It's crazy what he pulls off in games when he is at 100%. His Kael’thas, Guldan and Li-Ming plays are purely devastating. I know he's highly praised as THE mage player but what we’re striving for is simply turning him into THE player. I would like to see Mene be able to bring that energy and level of performance on all types of picks.

Zaelia provides a fresh insight to the team, being the newest player on the roster. He's always willing to challenge and discuss decisions made by the team. This is important because different perspectives and opinions help the team avoid getting complacent about what they do. Not only is he fresh blood, but he is fresh blood that stepped into the top of the scene and has been able to perform with the best. I try to make sure that he doesn't lose focus on what's objectively important for both him and the team.


You have been coaching the team since mid-August, how has the first month as the coach for Team Dignitas been for you?

Nabby: There are still a lot of things to work on, my presence is still very new for the team. I believe this is truly the first time they have committed to having a coach. I know they had Dunktrain helping them previously, but I believe there was a mutual understanding that it would be short term for them. Being long term based and signed with the team, I still have to really integrate with the group, to let them know they are no longer just a 5-man. We are all in this together, as cliche as it sounds. That is my focus right now, to become an integral and positive part of the group. The first month has been really great, the team has been really welcoming, they have been receptive to the opinions I try to bring forward. I'm happy that we are seeing some of the results we'd like and I can't wait to improve along with the team.


Since you joined, is there anything in particular that we have seen in the matches the past few weeks where you can say that this is something you have been working on?  

Nabby: To be honest, as much as I'd like to say yeah that was all me, credit really goes to these guys. They've been amazing players from the start, and the break did really help invigorate them back to that level. Some of the things I do think I've had an impact on is our team communication. We've worked a lot on how the players communicate in game, especially how they feed information to JayPL, allowing him to shotcall as smoothly as possible. I think in terms of drafting, we're starting to become a lot smarter. With communications improving, JayPL is able to share his ideas and reasoning behind the drafts allowing the team to see and follow the gameplan moving forward. I also keep challenging the players to make smarter decisions in-game. We've placed a lot of focus on "Why are you doing what you are doing, what is the risk, is it worth the reward" I try to keep them engaged in the improvement process.


Thank you for taking you time to talk to us, do you have any shoutouts to the Dignitas fans?

Nabby: First of all I want to say, thank you so much. I wouldn't be here if you guys didn't support Team Dignitas as much as you do. We are all honestly grateful. I think the team is really strong right now and we'll only grow stronger. Please continue to support and enjoy our adventure together as we take on Blizzcon 2017. I think you guys are going to be really happy with the results from us moving forward, we have a lot of great things coming, so be as excited for the team as I am, because the team is looking great and I can’t wait for you to see that.