The Coach Mate
WELCOME TO THE TEAM !
You can just stick your stuff in the locker, throw your bag under the bench over there and join us in small strides when you’re ready. C’mon let’s go, let’s go, let’s go, we have to be ready for this weekend. I’ve been trying really hard for the last three years to instill a bit of discipline in this team.
We still have our ranking to preserve in the championship this year after all !
Whether all the way out on the outfield, or close up on the infield, rain, hail or sunshine the best friend of a “Mate”, is the “Mate” playing alongside him.
Some players, of course, are stronger than the others. And our playbook is organized around them, but our true strength.. our true strength is our ability to work together as a unit. That’s what I drill into them, the ability to support each other, and the possibility for everyone to put on the suit of the hero-of-the-day when necessary or when the opportunity arises.
“Together we are stronger” is what I always say.
EVERYTHING YOU DO BEFORE,
AND THE MOMENT OF TRUTH
After having observed the Mates in action and designing an original experience around them including original solutions, developing 3D-rendering, prototyping and testing a whole bunch of tips and tricks to make sure we didn’t mess up too much, the moment of truth had arrived.
The moment when the player is experiencing exactly what we created for them.
This is our crash-test, our trial by fire, and we cross our fingers that we don’t get burned !
So, in the end, will it work? Will the concept designed by our pencils and scrutinised by our hesitations, our questioning and our decisions finally to transmit the emotion envisioned for our “Mate”.
ADVANCED ON THE FIELD
50 SHADES OF EMOTION(S)
Like any good coach the Coach Mate, goes through a range of emotions: stress, excitement, the rush of adrenaline, joy, doubt, anger, pride, drunkenness (usually after the game..), and, without necessarily realizing it, the thing that’s there beside us throughout these emotions are the objects that we take along with us, ranging from our trusty pair of shoes to the stickers stuck on our helmet.
These objects bear witnesses to your life as an athlete, they are the spectators to your triumphs and your defeats.
It would be wrong to try to simplify an experience and the effect one product has on it . We always need to consider the before, during, and after, the wind, the weather and what you ate the night before. This is the part of the big challenge UX faces, and the products and services it tries to come up with. We are not machines. We remain human, we too have our emotions, and our job is to allow you to experience yours to the fullest when you’re doing sport.
Hey you ! Over there ! Individually you’re not too bad..but collectively, you guys aren’t quite there yet. I think I can help you with that, but you have to give it your all. It’s like they say- no pain, no gain. And I have plenty of advice to give you in order to make you into the best team you can be.
So the idea is to prepare everyone for this year’s championship, we will do our very best and see how far that takes us, but more importantly, it’ll give us a starting point to assess your progress.
But before that, I’ve something for you. Here's a real cricket bat. It’s simple, but not simplistic, in fact it is a real feat or technical expertise. This exactly what you need to work on the basics and get back to the enjoyment of just hitting the ball. Let me know how you get on !
Everyone can chip in to buy it for the team. This is how it starts, and you know what? Honestly, it’ll work out cheaper this way too ! :)
And the day you become a team worthy of respect, held in high esteem by the other teams in our district, then we can move towards more sophisticated, more specialized, more technical equipment...
...In order to unleash your creativity and go beyond the current limits of batting on the field!
THAT’S IT.
Once we reach this stage of the life of a new product, we often repeat the same cycle over and over again. Our pencils and scissors will remain in a state of frenzy until we finally find a product we love. Until then it obsesses us, it becomes a game between us and the material to find the right thing that adds the right amount of ‘je ne sais quoi’ to the product. But the “Mates”, they know exactly what to do.
All this work on user experience comes from our convictions, but above all from the information we collect during the “User Safari”, this our way of meeting the users and listening to their needs. Go check out the Wing Mate, they’ll fill you in.
What the "mate" ?
Don’t waste your time doing useless Facebook surveys to find out what your favourite flower says about your personality, discover your “Mate” right here.
Thanks to your answers, we will be able to draw up a map of the “Mates” ! Ready ? Set ? Go!
