Hire a Game Coach Online

Carl Bialik from WSJ writes "Expert videogame players, many of them teens, are forging professional careers as coaches, finding clients — many of them in their 20s or 30s — online, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some gigs pay $65 an hour. From the article: 'Gaming-lessons.com says its youngest "Halo 2" instructor is 8-year-old New Yorker Victor De Leon III — better known by his online gamer name, Lil Poison — who has given several lessons a month since late last year, fitting the classes in after he has done his homework. His father, also named Victor, says his son has used some of the money he earns from lessons (hourly rate: $25) to buy a hamster, named Cortana after a character in the game.'"

I've heard of life coaches....

[krell]

I've heard of life coaches. But get-a-life coaches; that's something new!

Re:waste of money

[suggsjc]

I bet his hamster could beat you though...

Training Fee Schedule

[ackthpt]

• £50/Hr: Rule MMORPGs with an Iron Fist.
• £30/Hr: Winning strategies for Halo 2 and most other Console games.
• £5/Hr: Finally beat Pac Man, Asteroids or Galaxians.
• £1/Hr: Oaths, Obscenitites, Epithets and throwing things and the screen.
• Staring dumbly as you die in an utterly futile gesture is always Free.

Re:Pathetic

[krell]

"What's next, degrees and certifications?!"

For the degrees, you don't need coaches. You just buy them from grade-farmers in China.

Re:Pathetic

[Anonymous Coward]

Halo2 Clan Leader: "Sorry dude, you need H+ certification and a degree in Frag Mastering to join." Applicant: "But I've been playing first-person shooters for years! I have more experience than any idiot with those junk pieces of paper!!"

Re:waste of money

[KDR_11k]

Not if I have a microwave.

NO KIDDING!

[liak12345]

8-year-old New Yorker Victor De Leon III

His father, also named Victor

Thank you for pointing out that the father of a person named Victor the Third is also named Victor. I would have missed that completely.

Counter-Strike

[The MAZZTer]

I think "Kicked by console" must be some sort of certification or something, because I'm pretty good at CS and I get that all the time when I play and do well. Also people call me a "wallhack" and "aimbot", I don't know exactly what this means but I figure it's analogous to the title "Doctor" IRL.

I hired a game coach.

[bermabloeme]

And he put me on a special diet for gaming that's guaranteed to make me a champ! It goes like this:

Jolt Cola, Mountain Dew, Coffee.

Hamburgers, Tacos, Pizza - lot's of pepperoni and sausage - need that protein!

Skittles, Gummi Bears, etc... - sugars for the brain.

Cross training across platforms: alternating days of: PS/2, PCGames, Nintendo, etc...

One thing's for sure...

[mypalmike]

The people who are paying for these lessons are getting schooled.

Hear that? Jack Thompson just came in his pants.

[antime]

Doesn't anyone find it a little odd that an eight-year-old is making money playing an M-rated game?

Re:Pathetic

[Nerd4News]

skills that are useless away from video games?

Oh, I don't know about that. I've found it useful to chuck a few grenades into a room before I enter. Other than the janitor at work getting royally pissed it has served me well.

Re:waste of money

[Doytch]

Ya that was me. For LoZ, I racked up over $200 in charges. The phone company ended up taking over 3/4 of it away and I lost my allowance for a bunch of months :(

Re:Pathetic

[SomeoneGotMyNick]

After all, knowing the optimum golf club for a shot, or how to correctly use a 3-wood is useless away from golf.

Not if you have a groundhog digging up your yard and you can't seem to chase it off. It doesn't see the golf ball coming. The surprise shot usually sends it off for days.

There are other cross sport uses, too. For instance, baseball helped improve my bowling skills. Ever since I started bowling overhand, I'm not wasting frames trying to adjust to the lane conditions.

Re:Pathetic

[mobby_6kl]

> People actually pay for lessons for skills that are useless away from video games?

So it's mostly just like college, then.

Re:Training Fee Schedule

[theskipper]

• Priceless/Hr: Endure listening to gamer blame performance on ping