Military veterans nurturing the new generation of professional gamers

Muscle-bound, steely eyed and determined to succeed -- Patrick Sauer is everything you'd expect from a former US Marine.

Three separate combat deployments to Afghanistan, working for the highly trained Special Operations, Sauer constantly scans his environment. The 35-year-old gives the impression he has energy to burn and has yet to kick the habit of analyzing people's body language at all times.
Now that his 16-year service has come to an end, Sauer is drawing on his years of military experience to help mastermind a very different cause.
In 2019, OverActive Media, the parent company of esports outfits Splyce and Toronto Defiant, employed Sauer and fellow veteran Tom Hall to join its various teams around the world.
It was an opportunity presented to Sauer and Hall by Echelon Front, a company that looks to place military leaders into a variety of industries once they've retired from active duty.
The hope is that the pair will help give players and coaches the skills to improve performance on the virtual battlefield.