By Sadie Chronister and Gabe Eisenberg, Staff Reporters
Players gather around computers and consoles in hopes of victory. As the world of esports expands, its popularity has grown. The increased interest in video games has led to teams and competition. Sophomore Alex Hong has begun to develop Conestoga’s own esports team.
The definition of esports — competitive video games — applies to games such as Rocket League, League of Legends and Super Smash Bros. Other esports are first-person shooter (FPS) games. These FPS games are played through the perspective of a character engaged in weapon-based combat. Hong began to form an esports club during his freshman year, but he faced challenges when looking to receive approval from the administration.
“It was difficult getting approval because the school did not approve of FPS games, and for this reason they refused to approve an esports club. So, I continued to email them, and even though they still aren’t supportive of FPS games, they are allowing the other games,” Hong said.
Hong received approval and asked biology teacher Derek Bosworth to advise the club. Bosworth competed in esports in college and is currently the head coach of the Neumann University esports team. This experience has helped him in his new role as the esports team’s adviser at Conestoga.
“My job at Neumann has helped me foresee possible issues that can arise with matchmaking as well as problems on the day of matches,” Bosworth said. “Esports is a lot different than football or other sports because your football doesn’t not work one day. But in esports, there can be tech problems that need to be fixed quickly, and I have experienced that at Neumann.”
Along with his coaching experience, Bosworth also helped to develop the club by setting goals to grow the membership and diversify the games the club offers.
“This year, we are only playing Rocket League. Next year, I would like to expand it to other games besides just Rocket League. Maybe League of Legends or Super Smash Bros. My goal is to open the club up to as many people as interested,” Bosworth said. “Some people are going to want to play something that we aren’t going to offer, so if we open it up to more games, then more people can participate.”
As the club continues to welcome new members, Hong does not want to lose sight of the reason the club began. His biggest motivation came from his passion for video games and his eagerness to share it with others.
“I wanted to start an esports club because I have been playing video games for a while and really enjoy them,” Hong said. “I have seen a lot of other schools in this area have an esports club and loved the idea of bringing people together to experience the fun of video games as well as the competitiveness.”
Sadie Chronister can be reached at [email protected].
Gabe Eisenberg can be reached at [email protected].
