Centerville’s novice esports club crushes the competition
DAYTON, Ohio — Esports are competitive video games played as a team. The Ohio High School Athletic Association partners with Esports Ohio, to support and promote its annual state tournament in Apr. There are currently 294 schools that have teams affiliated with Esports Ohio.
This is Centerville High School’s (CHS’) first year as a club. Because we do not have the capability to game at the school, we traveled to VYRAL gaming compound in Kettering for our matches. VYRAL was incredibly supportive and so very helpful!
The winter season began in Jan., when teams played weekly for seven weeks. Those who qualified (including CHS) traveled to the regional tournament (University of Cincinnati, for the southwest region) in Mar. CHS then went on to the state tournament (University of Akron) in Apr.
Collin Giffin was named 1st Team All-Ohio for Super Smash Brothers, and Wonho Lee was named 2nd Team All-Ohio for Valorant. The CHS Valorant team (Kyrylo Chernyshev, Noah Hagerman, Matthew Jeng, Wonho Lee, Evan Sabol and Maddie Van Schagen) won second at state this season—very exciting, for our first time out!
I love that the esports community is so inclusive. I don’t game, so I have no idea what I’m doing; however, VYRAL, Esports Ohio and my students were extremely understanding and helpful. When students know a teacher cares about something they care about, they tend to care more about school.
Esports Ohio uses gaming as a positive educational and developmental change agent for students, incorporating teamwork, problem-solving and cooperation. The opportunity for these students to be a part of a team and represent their school is an exciting honor.
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