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Pursuit of Excellence
USA Rocket League Head
Coach ‘Satthew’
An esport like no other requires a coach who is a leader among their peers. Not only unyielding in the face of pressure, but turning their squad to diamonds beneath it. For Rocket League – best simplified as rocket-powered car soccer – there is no North American coach as accomplished or as accredited as the beacon and coach of USA Rocket League, Matthew ‘Satthew’ Ackermann.
In the five years that Satthew has coached Rocket League, working for two members of the USA Esports Alliance in G2 Esports and now NRG Esports, he has never failed to qualify for the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) World Championship. Less than a year ago, he was hoisting the RLCS 2025 World Championship trophy with NRG Esports, standing alongside two of the players that will be joining him on USA Rocket League, Massimo ‘Atomic’ Franceschi and Daniel ‘Daniel’ Piecenski. These three are no stranger to national Rocket League representation, with a similarly-themed FIFAe World Cup held annually in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but their eyes are set on the throne after a heartbreaking defeat in the 2025 semifinal to France.
“We lost at FIFAe (World Cup) because of issues closing out tight games and some coaching mistakes I made. In my eyes, we are still confidently Number 1 in the world, and we’re ready to get back to that stage.”
- Matthew ‘Satthew’ Ackermann, USA Rocket League Head Coach
Consistently high placings have been the hallmark of Ackermann’s tenure as a coach, both with G2 and NRG, but his playing career prior was anything but smooth sailing. The former competitor for Spacestation Gaming (SSG) and the Susquehanna Soniqs found his way into competing in an esports tale as old as time: getting introduced to the game by a friend, but quickly outgrowing the initial friend group before undergoing a metamorphosis with newfound online friends and teammates. He wound up in a whirlwind in late 2019, qualifying for the North American RLCS Season 7 with SSG before getting dropped at season’s end. He rallied back to the North American RLCS stage in Season 9 with his free-agent team, the aptly named “AfterThought” – which would later be acquired by the Soniqs. His unshakeable mindset, whether he missed out on Major events or had to claw his way back up, is part of a wider theme of resiliency that Satthew instills in every team he coaches. “I preach to my players about having that resilient mindset. You can get knocked down, but you have to keep fighting back.”
The competition for USA Esports will be fierce, with history indicating that France and Saudi Arabia will be the teams to beat, but Satthew is confident in the squad that America has assembled. Bringing on Shopify Rebellion’s Jason ‘Firstkiller’ Corral to accompany the NRG boys, there is but one word to describe them, according to Satthew. “Versatile. All three of them are capable of playing at a variety of positions around the field and taking up different roles at an extraordinarily high level. They’re happy to be first, second, or third man based on (whoever) has the ball.”
America’s development pipeline for Rocket League is far more robust than most other traditional esports, with the game’s publisher Psyonix aiding in the production of Collegiate Rocket League (CRL) tournaments for almost a decade. This additional league provides better exposure for schools and players and allows kids to capitalize on their Rocket League talents by earning a degree alongside competing. However, Satthew had some sharp critique for the players within the scene: particularly the players who compete within CRL with their school but are quick to jump ship for the RLCS open qualification circuit instead of growing alongside their teammates. “The RLCS format is open and allows for immediate qualification for any team, even collegiate programs, but individual agency needs to come from the players and colleges,” he argues. With how rarely North American esports athletes are able to bootcamp in person together, CRL athletes should not only be recognizing, but utilizing the incredible facilities and resources that are afforded to them.
Uniquely positioned as one of the most beginner-friendly esports, Satthew says that Rocket League has the opportunity to bridge the gap for traditional sports fans. Skewing towards a younger viewership demographic, as one of the few esports rated E for Everyone, Rocket League serves as a first-time esports viewer-friendly title for people who have never considered video games through a competitive lens. Satthew even noted that the “fluidity” of Rocket League is something that traditional sports fans – especially soccer or hockey – will be able to follow and relate to.
All in all, Ackermann didn’t mince words when talking about the opportunity to represent the United States once more on the international stage: “Coaching America is an incredible honor for me. It's one thing to lead a team for an esports organization, but to represent the country I was born and raised in elicits more personal emotions for me.”
Nothing short of perfection will suffice for Satthew, but he said that exciting things lay ahead for fans of American Rocket League.