E-Sports is widely known for its high-stakes, intense strategies and competitive gaming. But beyond the theatrics lies hours of practice, communication, and a sense of community within the team.
The E-Sports club at Shenendehowa High School has recently begun their regular season. They attended championships for the first time last year and are currently training to compete again at a national level.
The origins of such a team-based activity start with the coaches that founded the club.
Raine Owens is a co-advisor for the E-Sports team at Shenendehowa High School. He said he loves playing games, particularly Monster Hunter, and was an E-Sports coach at another school district.
“I wanted an additional place for students to feel welcome and participate in their high school experience,” said Owens.
Owens also said they didn’t make any cuts for the E-Sports team.
“We wanted all students to participate, and we had enough spots for everyone who wanted to. Tryouts were very simple: we showed up and played games to see how people communicated and worked together,” said Owens.
Owens said they meet with other E-Sports teams an hour before matches for warmups. They discuss overall team performance and necessary improvements.
“Like any league, there is a championship that we can be invited to depending on how well we do, so fingers crossed we make it!” said Owens.
Rachel Leone, a Shenedehowa alumnus, is also a co-advisor for the E-Sports Club.
“I really loved the idea of being able to share my passion of playing video games in a safe, judge-free environment,” said Leone.
Back in the early 2000s, Shen used to have a room dedicated to seniors in good academic standing called “The Fridge.” This room was not glamorous. It had no windows, ripped up couches and chairs, old board games with missing pieces, a big boxy TV from the 90’s, and other random items that served no purpose.
According to Leone, “It felt like an honor going to this room.” There was always someone who snuck in a game console and was playing it from the TV in there. A few people even came to just watch and hang out, and others were sitting in the corner playing their Nintendo DS.
“Some of my favorite memories were made in that room with people I normally didn’t talk to or game with,” said Leone. Once she heard that Shen was looking for coaches for E-Sports, she knew she wanted to coach students at the competitive level.
“I knew I wanted to try and bring back that sense of community I had felt at “The Fridge” with non-competitive days as well,” said Leone.
Competitions are held online through PlayVS, North America’s leading scholastic and collegiate gaming platform. Students will compete at the state and national level online against other school districts.
“We begin setting up and practicing an hour before the match, and then log into PlayVS so we can compete,” said Leone.
