Josh Sides began as the first-ever head coach for Winthrop esports on April 16, 2019. Sides has been an active member in the League of Legends community since its first competitive season in 2010, and has an extensive background in coaching and studying the meta-game of both League of Legends and Overwatch, two games that Winthrop eSports will initially play.
Sides came to his new position at Winthrop after leading the varsity program at St. Ambrose University (IA), which he helped launch in 2018. In the program's inaugural season, Sides led the Fighting Bees to third place finishes at the Harrisburg University Esports Invitational and the Acer League of Legends Invitational. Additionally, three of his players were invited to the Collegiate Esports Invitational All-Star Tournament in Chicago.Â
In the spring of 2019, Sides led St. Ambrose to a 21-4 record in the Tespa Overwatch regular season, which included wins over marquee programs such as Michigan State, Arizona State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State. The team also won the Paradigm Overwatch Lighthouse League Tournament with a victory over Illinois in the championship match. Sides also led the Fighting Bees to a 5-1 mark in the College League of Legends regular season, capped off by a huge upset win over heavily-favored Iowa State.
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Sides is a graduate of UNC Greensboro.
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