How U-M Commit Louis Hansen Is Helping Brother Excel As Esports Coach
Michael Hansen still remembers his eldest son, Mike, sitting on his lap and bawling his eyes out.
They just couldn’t figure it out. Pajama Sam, a popular adventure PC game in the late 90s and early 2000s, presented a daunting task. And after days and weeks of playing the game, beating it seemed impossible.
Michael put his tearing son to bed and tried to get some shut eye, but Pajama Sam was the only thing on his mind. Like something out of a movie, Michael had an epiphany. He woke Mike up close to 4 a.m., and excitement filled the room.
“It was aggravating me,” Michael said. “He was sitting on my lap crying because we couldn’t figure it out. Honest to God, I figured it out in my sleep. I woke him up, we turned on the PC, and we figured it out.”
Mike still laughs about beating the game around 20 years later.
“I still can’t comprehend how he did it, but it’s one of the moments that really sticks out to me in my head about this entire thing,” Mike said.
The Pajama Sam experience sparked an increased interest in video games for Mike, the older brother of Rivals100 2021 Michigan tight end commit Louis Hansen. With concussions putting an end to his athletic career, Mike became, well, obsessed with video games.
Louis recalls the first time he realized his older sibling wasn’t just an ordinary guy behind the joystick. He had something special.
“He’s had his own cabin in the basement for like 10 years,” Louis said with a laugh. “One day at dinner, he said he had a big video game tournament coming up. In 2014, that was weird. The next day he told me he beat the No. 2 player in the world in NHL. That was impressive. At that point, I thought he was pretty good. It was like ‘okay, he doesn’t just beat me.”
Despite Mike's success, Michael had fears that his son would turn into a recluse. In the era of World of Warcraft, kids were becoming increasingly gripped to their screens and a bit isolated from the outside world.
The stigma behind video games scared Michael. That is until he decided to do some eavesdropping.
“I was afraid he wasn’t going to be able to communicate with adults and other kids,” Michael said. “Mike was known as very quiet till I heard him swearing on his video games and yelling at people for not being in the right position. I realized it’s just a different culture. I guess that’s how kids communicate.”
The aforementioned sports game NHL14 was Mike’s claim to fame. Soon, he began to expand his video game catalog and hone his skills with popular titles like Mario Kart, Halo and Call of Duty. He eventually joined the Esports team at Nichols College, specializing in NBA2K and Rocket League, which is basically a mix of FIFA and the Playstation racing classic Twisted Metal.
After graduating with a degree in business administration, Mike decided to make video games his career. This summer he was named the head coach of the ESports program at his Alma mater.
“I’m very excited,” Mike said. “I like taking on new challenges. It’s one of those things where I know I’m a lot better at thinking about the game than actually playing the game. There are a lot better players on the team that I was, but I had a lot of knowledge about the games. I’m more of a strategy person and being able to help people reach their full potential is something that I’m very excited about.”
At this point, you may be asking yourself ‘what the heck is Esports?’
Well, in laments terms, Esports are video game competitions involving several different titles across various systems. But it’s much more than just getting online and playing with a friend. The competitive scene is booming, with winners regularly winning large sums of cash prizes and live stream audiences in the millions.
According to a report from Reuters, the global gaming market will generate $159.3 billion in revenue in 2020. Esports isn’t just a new wave. It’s becoming a staple in our society with college and professional teams popping up all over the country.
“It’s definitely becoming a very big market,” Mike said. “I wouldn’t be surprised to see it being labeled with a billion soon. I think the League of Legends championship game had three times as many viewers as the Super Bowl. Almost everyone can join in. It’s just a matter of layers being broken down and stigmas behind it. Just seeing people accept it for another competitive level is exciting.”
Of course, Mike won’t be tasked with just coaching up the future of Esports. He’ll have to recruit it, too.
While football teams get to offer around 25 full scholarships every recruiting cycle, Rsports is currently limited to partial scholarships. Mike has a 6-8 player quota he must fill every year but could bring in more if he can convince top national players to join the program.
Like with football, however, Esports players post highlights and have Rivals.com-esque sites that showcase leaderboards and player rankings for high schoolers that want to continue their video game careers at the collegiate level.
Recruiting will be a top priority for Mike moving forward. And that’s where Louis comes in.
Being the brother of one of the top 2021 football recruits in America certainly has its perks. Through Louis’ recruiting process, Mike was able to sit in on calls with both Oregon and Michigan coaching staffs and pick up some tips and tricks to implement into his own recruiting strategy.
“I don’t want to give away everything that (Louis) told me, but he gave me a few pointers that a lot of top coaches do,” Mike said. “There were similarities between how they did it. But they did it with their own style. It sounds cryptic, but there were five main things that every coach did. Being personable was the number one thing. It sounds generic, but it goes a long way.”
Louis added that in-person interactions often pay dividends.
“I told him to see the players as much as possible,” Louis said. “It’s one thing to get a call, but the schools that stood out to me came out and saw me during their bye weeks. You could tell they were making an effort to really see and recruit me. Michigan told me a lot about fit with the school, students and athletes. I would tell him to explain roles. And of course, making them feel like family.”
Family is something that Michigan prides itself on when it comes to recruiting top football players across the country. While some schools are flashy with graphics or try to sell their uniforms and facilities, Jim Harbaugh and company have stayed consistent with their family first message.
And that’s a big reason Michigan was able to seal the deal with Louis. In fact, Mike was there when Louis told the U-M staff that he would be jumping onboard. It’s an experience he’ll take with him when he embarks on his coaching journey at Nichols College.
“Michigan definitely made you feel like family,” Mike said. “The one thing that I always liked about Michigan is that they kept my father and mother in the loop. They’ve always been there. Even today, they were reaching out with updates. They made you feel like you were wanted and still treat you like they want you. They are very family oriented.
Family is also the biggest recruiting takeaway Michael had during the process and constantly tells his son to use it on the video game recruiting trail.
“Get the whole family involved,” Michael said. “That’s where Michigan separated itself. There were a couple of schools that did a really good job with the family. Louie never came out with a Top 5, but those schools that were in it talked to me and his mom on a regular basis.
“Even now, I got two emails from (Director of Recruiting) Matty Dudek. He’s always sending out emails and texts on things going on, and they have a lot going on right now. He’s staying in touch, and that’s special. It’s a lot of work. He answers questions and is always open for more questions.”
Video games will forever be a staple in the Hansen household.
With Mike now doing it professionally and Louis heading to Ann Arbor soon, time for sibling rivalries with the controller may be few and far between. But Louis has a strategy when it comes to challenging Mike.
“I usually try to get him to play sports games with me,” Louis said. “If I play him at anything else, it won’t end well. I’m too competitive. I’ll try to fight him (laughs).”
Michael, on the other hand, has seen Father Time come his way on the video games front. Long gone are the days of Pajama Sam, but you can bet he'll be in The Big House and the video game arena cheering on both of his boys.
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