Esports, Education, and Mindfulness; George Cork

George Cork is an esports education specialist based in the U.K. With over a decade of experience in coaching, teaching, and operations, George designs innovative, standards-aligned curricula that use video games to re-engage students in education. He has delivered esports qualifications at both university and collegiate levels and is passionate about transforming traditional learning through industry-relevant content in areas like business, tech, and athlete care. A global leader in the field, George has launched pilot programs in the UK, Iceland, and North America. He also uses mindfulness to help players and students develop emotional resilience and maintain focus under pressure.

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• Website: www.esportsacademics.com
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-cork/

Most Influential Person

• My uncle and my mom

Effect on Emotions

• I would say mindfulness helps me a lot in terms of staying grounded. It’s about making sure I don’t react in an emotional way.

• If I receive some bad news, I try to take time to decompress—just pause for a moment.

• I try to fully understand the situation before reacting, because if I respond immediately, I’m likely reacting purely out of emotion.

Thoughts on Breathing

• I talk to non-native players I coach about what I call a tactical pause. That is where you pause the game and take a minute or 30 seconds to reset yourself mentally.

• Because you're so focused and running on adrenaline, it’s necessary to reset your breathing and focus and just calm yourself down.

Suggested Resources

• Book: The Diary of a CEO: The 33 Laws of Business and Life by Steven Bartlett
• App: n/a

Bullying Question

• One of the main things right now in esports is inclusivity. There's a massive push in trying to make people more inclusive, like the industry more inclusive, especially to the women's female audience.

• Esports is a very male dominated industry right now. Slowly it's starting to change. But there is a lot of core ground level work that needs to be done in order to make women feel more welcome.

• It's not obviously all people, but some are very toxic in terms of their behavior and how they react overall.