North Carolina FC’s new-look 2024 squad put the pieces together for the first time on Saturday, March 9, taking on the Charleston Battery to kick off the team’s return to the USL Championship.
But the chemistry and bonds between the returning players and new signings have been building for months. While the long days of preseason practice and other team activities on the field are undoubtably important, the off the field and unstructured moments are just as crucial to a winning formula.
With so many new players, 14 in total joining this offseason, building the chemistry can take time, but the players have ways to get to know each other off the field and one of those ways is video games.
“I use gaming whenever I go to new clubs just as a way to connect with people and get to know each other better,” said Lamar Batista, one of North Carolina FC’s newcomers this season.
For Batista, those connections built by playing video games with new teammates translate onto the field.
“I feel like you communicate more naturally with your buddies and so just taking that time to play together, you’re on the mic communicating, and just catching up talking about life in general,” Batista said.
Since joining North Carolina this offseason, Batista has teamed up with returning midfielder Jaden Servania to climb the ranks of EA Sports FC’s online divisions, but different groups of players have different go-to games, such as Call of Duty or Fortnite.
France has been the preferred team for the duo’s climb and as for who is better at the game? Both insist it is a team effort.
“We are really a team,” Servania said.
“I couldn’t get to Division 1 without Jaden. … We come in at the right time to carry each other,” Batista followed.
For Servania, gaming provides a great option for teammates to bond outside of playing while staying off their feet after training.
“You’re still talking with your friends and hanging out, so it is a great way to bond with them outside of the field,” Servania said.
Servania said that even though it isn’t possible for all the guys on the team to play the same games together at the same time, that connection still blends into the locker room.
“Once you come together in the locker room and everyone is playing similar games, you can speak on those things and bond over those things. That helps with connecting as well,” Servania said.
Of course, not everyone has the same level of skill when it comes to games, and it appears that topic has become a good source of banter for the team.
“Paco says he plays, but I have never played with him,” Servania said.
“I heard he is trash at Fortnite,” Batista added with a laugh. “He calls himself the medic, so I don’t trust Paco, but I would play with him.”
As for the young guns, Batista and Servania said Adrian Pelayo and Julian Placias both play Fortnite and are probably very good, with Batista referring to the pair as “Bob the Builders” with a laugh.
Bonding with new teammates isn’t the only thing players use video games for. Soccer, and professional sports in general, can often mean picking up your life and moving to a new city every few years.
With that, players leave friends, former teammates and siblings behind, but many are able to maintain those friendships through video games.
“It’s one of my favorite sources of communication with my football playing buddies. I have friends playing in Europe and friends all across the states, so it’s nice to just be able to hop on after training for an hour or two and just catch up,” Batista said.
Batista relinked up with one of his brothers, forward Garrett McLaughlin, when he came to North Carolina FC this offseason, but he said the duo have plans to start playing EA Sports FC’s Pro Clubs mode to stay in touch with their other brother and another friend from back home in Oklahoma.
“We used to play that back in high school,” Batista said.
Whether it’s bonding with new teammates or reconnecting with old friends and teammates, video games can play an important role in building a culture within a team and having that culture translate onto the field on game day.