DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) – Esports is fostering friendships among Dubuque high school students.
The Dubuque Community School District and the Dubuque Esports League jointly launched competitive video gaming as a team sport for Dubuque Senior High School and Stephen Hempstead High School students in October 2024, joining dozens of Iowa school districts competing in Esports. The district says the activity develops problem-solving skills and a sense of belonging.
“Instead of, ‘It’s just a game.’ We’re a team. We’re representing Dubuque,” says Dubuque Community Schools Student and Teacher Services and Technology Coach Ryan Spires. “They’re getting more of an awareness of what they’re doing in the school itself. It has given opportunities to kids, who are really coming out of their shell.”
The opportunity is taking dozens of students and fostering friendships among strangers. Travis Wood says he came to the first practice alone.
“The beginning of the season, I didn’t really talk to any of them much,” says Wood. “As we played more games together and learned their names, I became more and more open, starting communication and joking around and having a good time with them.”
It’s ‘game on’ for Wood and teammate Mazian Imran, who recalled the “rocky” first week of the Esports season.
“I never really thought I’d be able to do it,” says Imran. “We were really shy and we were really scared of each other, but I feel like here, it feels like more like a community than if you were playing online with random strangers.”
Wood notes a key difference between gaming virtually and playing in person.
“I think a lot of gaming is done behind a headset and a screen, you know, whereas this, you’re right sitting side by side with them, and you can build those connections and meet people with the same interests as you and gain real friends,” explains Wood.
Gaming with new friends is also developing problem-solving skills, according to Imran.
“I compromise, and learn how to compromise within the team, how to create ideas, make a plan, and follow that plan thoroughly to reach our goals,” says Imran.
The Dubuque Esports team’s first competition of the spring season is Thursday, March 20.
Copyright 2025 KCRG. All rights reserved.
