Recently, Adam Kaplan, the head coach of the American team Sentinels, gave an interview to the information portal Dexerto, in which he shared his thoughts about his team.

Key takeaways from the interview

Adam joined the team as a strategic coach in the middle of the autumn of 2022. In April 2023, head coach Donald Muir left Sentinels, and Kaplan took his place. The season under the new coach proved to be quite tumultuous, with players continually finding themselves in various situations. For instance, the team's substitute player, Hunter "SicK" Mims, faced issues with his mental health, which resulted in him being held responsible twice for trespassing and intrusion onto private property.

Adam himself comments on the time spent as a coach in this way

This year I've had really diligent, hardworking, talented players, but it took a lot of energy for us all to feel like a team. Having this glue, having this chemistry, joking around, being ready to stand up to each other — that's what we've been working hard on, trying to get people to call each other, share their feelings, and understand that no one bites.

He talks about how the team's roster underwent many changes in terms of game mechanics in 2023. Players have been continuously switching their roles over a long period and can't decide where they feel best. Gustavo "Sacy" Rossi at some point switched to the controller role but didn't stay there for long. Bryan "pANcada" Luna gave up the smoker role he had been practicing for so long with LOUD, and Tyson "TenZ" Ngo started playing an unusual role for him, KAY/O.

The main topic of conversation was, of course, the defeat at VCT 2023: Americas Last Chance Qualifier, and the team's future. Adam Kaplan said that the team prepared a lot, but in the end, all the work proved to be in vain.

It's terrible that the work and growth we've made as a team didn't show today. But nothing can take away the efforts we put into this work, we really grew, and we're proud of that.

Despite the defeat and the missed opportunity to qualify for the Valorant Champions 2023 World Championship, Adam does not lose heart. He plans to continue supporting the team and helping it improve its skills and achieve better results next year.

It was a turbulent year, but I learned a lot. I feel like I have a lot to prove. I really want to come back stronger and dominate next year. I'm sure my players feel the same. We fell down, but we didn't fall out. We will come back

We would like to note that the contracts of two Sentinels players expire this year. There is no information yet on whether they will leave the team, but judging by the words of the head coach, it seems that TenZ and Marved will continue to play under the Sentinels flag.

Read more: Rumor: TenZ will leave Sentinels in 2023