With over 250 million registered Fornite users in the world, video games and competitive gaming are more popular than ever. And it's not just the casual gaming enthusiast who plays with friends on the weekend. With headsets on, specialized keyboards glowing in their eyes, student-athletes in eSports are slightly different from the 225 pound running back you are used to seeing on Friday night. These students are the new wave of high school athletes in the rapidly growing competitive gaming eSports landscape.

The Rise of eSports in College
To capitalize on college scholarships, Newman Smith has created an eSports club to expose students to competitive gaming. According to scholarships.com, over thirty U.S. colleges and universities offer scholarships to join their college teams, with more schools creating programs each year. Newman Smith hopes to turn their students’ interest in gaming into a way to pay for college. ESports scholarships are now a viable option to earn college money at many Texas universities and colleges across the nation.

What are eSports
An article on Harvard University's website describes eSports as video games played in a highly organized competitive environment. These games can range from popular team-oriented multiplayer online battle arenas (MOBAs), to single-player first-person shooters, to survival battle royales, to virtual reconstructions of physical sports. The article goes on to credit South Korea as developing what we know as eSports. 

The Asian country put money into increasing bandwidth, improving their telephone and internet connectivity, and making it possible to compete against people over the internet. The rise in competitive gaming led to tournaments and teams to form.

eSports has gained popularity recently in Dallas as more and more competitive gaming teams pop up throughout the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex seems to be a hotbed for eSports opportunities, with the City of Arlington opening a $10 million, 100,000-square foot gaming arena two years ago. The competitive gaming team, the Dallas Fuel, calls the arena home to their League of Legends team. Many high schools across North Texas are creating teams to compete at the high school level.

Newman Smith's eSports Club
The Esports Club at Newman Smith was created last spring to reach as many scholars as possible interested in all aspects of eSports, including taking part in tournaments, marketing events, event planning and team coordination. The club's goal is to expose students to the eSports world and showcase their gaming talents. The club currently focuses on competitive games that are popular in eSports like Valorant, Overwatch, Super Smash Bros., Rocket League, League of Legends and NBA2K21.

"I'm focusing on creating a roster for each competitive game where the selected scholars will train and compete against other schools or organizations. My students want this to be a class (just like any other sport) to train and get better at their passion. My personal goal is to fight and make that happen for them," said Newman Smith Chemistry teacher and eSports sponsor, Graham Coleman.

Students spend most club days planning tournaments and marketing their eSports group. The students' ultimate goal is to raise money for computers and consoles like many competitive gaming classes at other area high schools. The next step to make this happen is to plan a district-wide CFBISD gaming tournament. Students in the club have already assigned roles to develop a strategic plan for their next contest.

The club has already hosted school tournaments in the past. Their first tournament was a Super Smash Brother's competition that was open to the whole school. The club also hosted many matches during the COVID-19 campus closure. Those tournaments were met with much fanfare as they streamed for the world to see on the popular platform, Twitch, where students across the district highlighted their skills in a game called Valorant.

The club gives students a perspective on a rapidly growing industry and could provide future career paths for Newman Smith students. And the best part is that anyone at Newman Smith can participate. "This team of students allows kids to be part of something that they have never experienced in schools before. eSports is a level playing field when it comes to competition. It does not matter your height, disability, age or athletic prowess. The sport offers something special and positive for the students," said Coleman. 

The Future of Gaming at Newman Smith
CFBISD is continually looking for opportunities for our students. Newman Smith wants its students to be passionate about their future. With eSports growing in popularity, Newman Smith hopes to help students learn more about eSports and pursue careers in the industry. The eSports Club at Newman Smith can be a gateway for students to go to college and try something they love.

Coleman is excited about the future of the program at Newman Smith. He hopes to see a future where the club can morph into a full-time class. If your student is interested in eSports and attends Newman Smith, you can learn more about the program or join the club by emailing Mr. Coleman at colemang@cfbisd.edu.