Wouldn’t it be nice to have those power items timed for you? Many of the top professional Halo teams in the world use coaches for tournament play. Some use coaches to time power items, while others have coaches who actively call out valuable information. If you and your team are considering attending a live event and bringing a coach, it’s important to know what you want from that coach ahead of time. Here are a few things to think about to guide you in that decision:

* How active should my coach be? Will a fifth voice constantly relaying enemy locations serve to confuse the natural chemistry you already possess? Plenty of teams are successful without a coach and maybe yours has yet to reach a point where a coach is needed.

* The coach as the silencer: Some teams suffer a quiet spell when they have a coach “doing the work for them.” In general, it’s best to avoid having a coach until your own team’s communication cannot be affected by another voice. When a team stops talking together, they are typically out of sync. Communication serves to get you pumped up and you don’t want a coach that will take away from that.

* The coach as keystone. Some teams swear by their coaches. Sometimes having a non-playing member of the team to mediate and keep energy positive is just the thing a team needs to hit the next level. Remember, though, with or without a coach, your team needs natural chemistry or tensions are likely to hit a boiling point.

If you’re an up-and-coming player or team, a coach may be an addition to make after some experience without one. Most teams reach the top professional level without having a coach and there are many, many other important things to work on before adding this final element to your team.