Search
-
April 7, 2022Mount Saint Mary Catholic High School has launched a new sport called esports, the first school in the archdiocese to do so.
According to esports coach Jared Smith, esports is a competitive, organized form of video gaming, consisting of teams that compete across the state, nation and world.
“Our athletic directors, Chris Crosbie and Blake Gunter, approached me about this new sport the Oklahoma Secondary School Activities Association was adding to their list of Fall 2021 programs,” Smith said.
“After we researched the sport and discovered more than 200 colleges nationwide provided scholarships, we decided to bring this opportunity to the students of MSM. The University of Oklahoma recently gave their first full-ride scholarship for esports, which piqued our interest, and we participated in the very first OSSAA season last year.”
Smith said there are minor differences between esports and other sport programs offered at the school. He said he considers esports a competitive sport just like other school sports. They practice daily, have junior varsity and varsity teams and compete against other high schools for a state or regional championship. They are a team of student-athletes who share a passion for playing a game. The only difference is that instead of a field or court, they play online.
“There are no competition classes in this sport, so we are competing against teams from 1A through 6A across the state. We are blessed to have such great kids who are competitive and win against the larger schools,” he said.
Smith added there were many challenges he and the team faced when beginning the new program.
“The hardest part at the beginning was logistics. We compete in four different esports games and obtaining all the equipment with proper internet speeds and access to make sure we could compete was challenging,” he said. “Another challenge was trying to understand all the rules of four different games (Splatoon 2, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, Rocket League and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe). You can imagine having to know all the rules of a sport being challenging, but knowing the rules of four takes an extreme level of commitment and focus. Finally, trying to get an identity as a program and how it would be organized was, and still is, in its beginning stages.”
Despite these obstacles, Smith said having student-athletes who are motivated and understanding made a huge difference.
“They understood we were taking on a new frontier for MSM and Oklahoma. There really was no precedent for us in this sport, but we have powered through learning along the way who we are as a team. We had a lot of buy-in from the parents who have helped tremendously by donating time, equipment and resources,” he added.
The Mount Saint Mary Rockets did well in their first season of playing, finishing in the top eight in the state for Super Smash Brothers. Coach Smith said he believes they have an opportunity to make it to the state championship as well as the regional championship.
“I have learned to surrender my responsibility as a coach and take on more of a managerial role. I monitor and coach the kids about life and the challenges of losing and humbling ourselves when we win. My student-athletes are the real coaches as they play these games more often and are more up-to-date on the games themselves.”
When parents and students are considering participating in this form of sports, Coach Smith said he understands the trepidation they may have, but to consider that, like most other conventional sports, they require teamwork, which takes time and practice.
“The benefit to joining esports versus recreational video-gaming is that it is in a controlled, organized and competitive environment. There are scholarships and career opportunities. This year, esports is projected to be about a $2 billion industry,” he pointed out.
Jolene Schonchin is a freelance writer for the Sooner Catholic.
