HOLLAND, Ohio — A year older than ESports Ohio itself, Springfield High School's Esports team has helped provide the blueprint for video game competition throughout the area.
"This year we're officially a varsity sport," Springfield Esports head coach Sean Abel said.
Since helping start the program in 2014, Abel and his staff have not only found ways to improve equipment for the team - which requires things like computers, consoles, controllers and accessories - but also to showcase what this platform can provide.
"I'm very grateful that they started this at Springfield, it really opened up to who I am as a person," Springfield senior Jackson Sloan said. "I enjoy playing games and am also a multi-sport athlete."
He joined the Blue Devils as a sophomore and balances his time with soccer and volleyball as well. Video games, though, have risen to the top after Sloan was offered an Esports scholarship to play for Ball State University, where he'll attend next year.
"He had plays for maps, plays for our team and plays against other teams," Abel said. "As a coach, all I had to do was sit back and let him run the show."
As captain of the school's Valorant team, Sloan has led his group to two Regional runner-up finishes in the tactical shooter game and the second-best ranking in northwest Ohio. He is one of 40 active players at Springfield.
"We have students that are multi-sport athletes, honor roll, and of course, average students," Abel said. "This year, we sported three cheerleaders and band members."
When the school introduced this opportunity a decade ago, Abel told WTOL 11 that more kids came out for the meeting than football. Although it is considered a male-dominated sport, the Blue Devils do have four girls on their squad, which includes Overwatch captain Haley Freshour.
"As we get further and more well-known, everyone is curious," Freshour said. "People come up to us and ask 'how do I get involved?'"
ESports Ohio offers a variety of different games to choose from, ranging from racing to first-person shooters.
This past weekend, the Ohio High School Athletic Association ESports Ohio Championships offered popular competitive co-op and single-player games like Overwatch, Rocket League, Super Smash Bros. and Valorant.
Esports is split into a fall season and a spring season and is best compared to the sport of track and field, which has multiple teams and events, and competition stands alone from other athletics.
"It's really cool actually because originally I didn't play this game (Valorant)," senior Jullian Levy said. "But my seniors wanted me to grow and now I'm here doing that for other people."
Levy is a prime example of the impact this group can have, finishing 1st Team All-Ohio to cap off his career.
"I was a sub my sophomore year and had the worst possible rank you could have in that game," Levy said.
Despite the continuing rise of this sport, a stigma still exists that Springfield and others are trying to eliminate.
"We had our first big parent meeting this year because we had resistance from parents who questioned playing video games after school," Abel said. "I sat down with them and explained that this is an opportunity."
A chance to grow, build and play amongst a team with a unique aspect that not every high school can provide, which has something for everyone.
"Don't be afraid to join Esports," Freshour said. "It's not just a place for guys to hang out."
This school year, the Blue Devils claimed a third-place finish in Fortnite at States during the fall season.
Next year, Springfield will expand its program to middle school.
The team told WTOL 11 that their presence over the last decade has assisted in growing ESports locally, with Southview High School and Northview High School generating teams within the past couple of years.
In fact, the Northview Wildcats claimed the 2024 Super Smash Bros. state championship title on Sunday.
Other local Esports teams include Arlington, Findlay, Perkins, Rossford, St. John's and Whitmer.
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