Maxime Leggett-Tremblay, Quebec’s first Esport performance coach

I met Maxe – as she likes to be called – on the eve of the opening of Montreal’s new Esport Academy. Video games and people have always been a passion for Maxime Leggett-Tremblay, but she never thought that combining the two could become her profession. She is now a performance coach for the Montreal Esport Academy. She joined the small team over a year ago to take on a major challenge: including video games in an educational model. She tells us about her journey and gives us a glimpse of her daily life in an industry where women are not very present.

Naomie Marleau: Where does your passion for video games come from?

Maxime Leggett-Tremblay: I grew up with video games. I used to get up at 7 a.m. on weekends to play Zelda with my little brother. I didn’t hang out with the girls at all when I was younger; I spent my time playing with the guys. We played sports and games. It really shaped my childhood. As I grew up, it remained a passion.

Naomie Marleau: How did you end up working for the Academy?

Maxime Leggett-Tremblay: In 2010, I started studying video game design. I worked in this field for a few years, then got a bit bored. That’s when I discovered the Twitch platform. I realized that I could do a job that combined the two things I love most in the world! From that moment on, I began to accumulate a lot of professional experience in this field: streaming, journalism, organizing events all over Quebec, etc. Then I arrived at the academy, where I began to work on the Twitch platform. Then I came to the academy.

Naomie Marleau: What is the Montreal Esport Academy?

Maxime Leggett-Tremblay: It’s the same principle as a sports-study program. Kids go to school in the morning and come to the academy in the afternoon. The program is divided into six modules with specialized coaches. Students have two hours of games, two hours of theory and at least thirty minutes of exercise a day. We also set up a somewhat atypical classroom for which I did a lot of ergonomic research. I wanted to understand how space and light impact learning, so as to offer the best for them. This program is offered to young people aged 12 to 17 (high school), and we also have day camps!

“Our idea is not to train them all to become pro gamers, but to show them all the career possibilities around video games.” – Maxime Leggett-Tremblay, Performance Coach

Naomie Marleau: You mentioned that you received more registrations than expected (bravo!). What’s the girl/boy split?

Maxime Leggett-Tremblay: Unfortunately, we didn’t receive any registrations from girls. We also didn’t create any marketing campaigns for them, which we would have needed to do.

Naomie Marleau: Are you the only woman on staff?

Maxime Leggett-Tremblay: Yes, you contacted me to do this interview at just the right time! It’s only recently that I started questioning my place and my path in a world of guys.

I’ve always been the girl who looks up when people talk about feminism in video games, because I had trouble putting myself in the shoes of girls who experienced sexism. I didn’t experience it that way. Growing up with guys, when I got comments, I told myself it was because I was “one of the guys” and that it had nothing to do with the fact that I was a girl. For me, it didn’t make any difference that I was a girl.

It was when I had to do research and analysis in order to teach and build the curriculum that I realized that it’s not the same to play video games with guys and work on video games with guys.

Naomie Marleau: What would you say to a young girl enrolling in your program?

Maxime Leggett-Tremblay: Unfortunately, there are a number of stereotypes about girls who play video games, such as the fact that they don’t perform as well as boys, or that they don’t really belong in the gaming world. It’s a reality, and I want them to be aware of it. I also want to tell them that they may receive sexist comments, and that very often it’s not intentional. They shouldn’t take it personally. They need to educate the people who make these kinds of comments. There’s definitely a long way to go, and I firmly believe that it starts with education. Fortunately, that’s my field! [Laughs]