E-Sports - Deep Dive

photo courtesy of Sportspromedia.com

​WGHS has its own E-Sports team, coached by Mr. Pearson, who has been coaching Esports for 3 years now. ​
by Envyah Caldwell, Dairion Peters, and Paulina Rodriguez

​WGHS has its own E-Sports team, coached by Mr. Pearson, who has been coaching E-Sports for 3 years now. Some students might think that E-Sports should not be considered a sport, but Coach Pearson explains, “E-Sports is a sport because it is competitive, it takes skill, [and] it takes lots of training and patience to learn the game and [to] learn the facets and the minor details of the game. Also, the fact that we compete with other teams with the same skill level, or approximately the same skill level. It makes it very much just like another sport. It may not be running or jumping, or something that you normally think of in a sport, but it is something that still takes skill and practice.”

As of right now, the WGHS E-Sports program currently offers mostly Nintendo Switch games. Pearson lists games like Super Smash Bros and Mario Kart 8 and even PC games like League of Legends and Rocket League. Coach Pearson comments that he is “hoping that they would go ahead and add some more first person shooter games into the E-Sports brackets, but it is going to be directly up to the GHSA, which is over the E-Sports Competitions.” Even the players are hoping for more FPS games like Call of Duty or Rainbow 6 siege. 

Bostyn Rounsaville, a participant in the E-Sports team, Says, “E-Sports is fun to participate in. You get to train and play games and see who's the better player.” adding on, “Before I play I just think to myself I have to not panic and I have to lock in.”  Just like a sport. His teammate, Tristian, said the same thing.

E-Sports , also known as electronic sports, is a form of competitive gaming that has rapidly gained popularity over the past decade. It involves professional players competing against each other in multiplayer video games, often in front of a live audience or online viewership. E-Sports has become a major industry, with millions of fans tuning in to watch tournaments and championships every year. The history of E-Sports can actually be traced back to the 1970s, when video games like Space Invaders and Pong were first introduced. However, it wasn't until the 1990s that E-Sports began to take shape as a competitive industry. Games like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat became popular among gamers, and organized tournaments began to emerge. 

​Overall, E-Sports has become a major part of the gaming landscape and is likely to continue growing in the years to come. With the rise of new games and the expansion of the E-Sports industry, there are plenty of opportunities for players, fans, and companies to get involved and help shape the future of competitive gaming.