Evelyn Ryan

At the high school, Esports has taken hold of the students, leading to the creation of the school’s very own Esports team.
IT staff member Patrick Murray assumed the role as team adviser after Paul Latino, the previous coach, took a job in another school district.
“I became the coach for the team because I mainly just want to support kids in esports,” said Murray. “Whether they’re just doing it for fun or, competitively, I want to support their hobbies and interests.”
But the new addition to the school raises the question on the future of the club. However for Murray, there doesn’t seem to be any doubt.
“The team looks to be in good shape,” said Murray. “Of course we could always use new players, but we seem to be looking good for our games.”
At the moment, the club competes in only two games.
If the program introduced more games to be played, other students say that the popularity and interest in the program would be increased.
“If the team had a game like Fortnite, it would bring more players in I believe,” said senior Nick Pajer
Junior Ansh Gupta agreed with Pajer.
“I think the team needs more games,” Gupta said. “Only having games like League of Legends might hurt their popularity because some people might not be interested in it.”
But Murray explained that the state decides the games they play, not the school.
“Our program only contains the games League of Legends and Mario Kart,” said Murray. “We have to play by the state standards meaning we can’t just pick any games we want. We also want to play to our player’s strengths with the selection of games. ”
“I would join the team if it had certain games like co-op (team games) or RPG games (role play),” said Junior Adrian Martinez “Games like Rainbow 6 siege and Warzone would definitely make me consider joining.”
Last year, the program included sporting games like NBA 2k.
Senior Kieran Verrier thinks Madden NFL should be included.
“If Madden was in the program I would 100% consider joining,” said Verrier. “ I love playing the game at home and I feel like they could use me on the team if they had one.”
To gain more traction and popularity, some students even suggested the club should live stream their games.
“People would be more interested in it if they streamed them on Twitch I feel like,” said freshman Jake Binienda. “That might be an easier way or another way they could grow their program.”
The new esports season brings on new captains, including Senior Penelope Batsarisakis.
“The old captains recommended that I play,” said Batsarisakis. “I’m glad I joined because I’ve been enjoying the program since sophomore year.”
Early in their season the team gained convincing wins.
“So far we’ve done very well,” said Batsarisakis. “Of course there is room for improvement, and we are also short handed with players so that is something also to take into account.”
The Esports team currently has three members Batsarisakis, senior Alex Hill, and freshman Nicholas Buraczenski, which makes them disadvantaged to the usual four players.
“This [fall] season we won’t have a full roster (3/4),” said Batsarisakis. “However we are looking good next season as we currently have 8 players on the squad.”
Next season (spring) taking place the Esports team will be ready to compete at full strength.
Not only students at the High School enjoy Eports, but Assistant Principal Josue Delgado as well.
“I game often, I usually stick to Call of Duty when I want to go online and play with friends of mine,” said Delgado.
Delgado hopes other students join the club, believing it to be very beneficial for those who wish to game.
“I hope the idea is emphasized that any person regardless if they are a beginner or advanced can learn, develop, and continue to get better.” Said Delgado.