The advent of esports has been a boon for high school kids across Ector County ISD. They look forward to coming to school and they get to do one of their favorite things — play video games.
Everado Bello, a PHS esports coach, said the kids are playing Fortnite, Rocket League, Mario Kart and Super Smash Brothers.
Abraham Suchil, a 17-year-old senior, and 15-year-old freshman Joshua Garcia, are esports athletes at Permian.
Garcia, who competes in Fortnite, said having esports available came as a shock at first. But he feels it’s good for people who are good at video games and have never had a way to “show it off.”
Suchil, who also plays Fortnite, said having esports, even if it’s his last year of high school, made him happy to see that school isn’t just about learning from books.
“You can also learn technology and keep up with the way the world’s going now. … To be able to compete and show off my skills, it makes me excited and happy, because it’s always been a dream of mine,” Suchil said.
Esports has also helped them meet people they didn’t know before within PHS and from the other high schools.
Bello said there are about 10 students on two teams — personal computer and Nintendo Switch. The PC group plays Fortnite and Rocket League and the Nintendo group plays Mario Kart and Super Smash Brothers.
He added that it’s competitive among the teams and it’s within reach of many different people.
“You don’t necessarily have to fit a stereotype or a group of people to be within this. You can come from any walk of life, and this might be something that different groups of people can get together and enjoy,” Bello said.
He added that he has always enjoyed playing video games on his own, but when he started coaching, it was different.
“It’s no longer you on the controllers and you staying quiet. Now it’s you’re watching kids play, and you have to figure out, how can I help them become a better player?” Bello said.
Being a gamer himself gives him insight, but there are so many games to choose from that it’s hard to keep up. Personally, he plays Call of Duty, Forza Motorsport and Super Smash Brothers.
Before winter break, the teams had been practicing for about eight weeks.
“It’s not a lot of time, but a lot of these kids have gone from being strangers to now being friends. It’s pretty neat. We have unofficial captains, who oversee day to day, day to day maintenance of the computers as well. … They take it upon themselves to take care of their equipment, which is really nice,” Bello said.
Chandler Collums, esports coach at OHS, said his kids love having the team as an option to contribute to their school.
“They think it’s a unique opportunity that they want to see expand and succeed here on our campus,” Collums said.
He has 20 to 30 students in the group. His core team has about 12 kids.
“They are so happy to have a team that they can join and feel welcome in, and they enjoy the environment of getting together and playing with their friends and other schools,” Collums said.
He added that his students are really talented when they get to do something they love.
“I think they are really good at their games of choice, and they are also some amazing team players. I have seen so many come out of their shell and start to shine when given an opportunity like this. My juniors and seniors are working hard to pave the way for this team to be a real powerhouse and a legacy for their freshman and sophomore teammates, and I couldn’t be prouder of the progress they have made. Coaching them and getting them excited to contribute has been the highlight of my year for sure,” Collums said.
At NTO, Paul Sanchez is the esports coach and facilitator. They have an esports class and an esports club and three esports competitive teams.
They started having esports in class in August 2024, but they started offering it after school. They compete in Rocket League, Overwatch, Mario Kart and Smash Brothers. They are looking at Street Fighter and there are some other games that are “kind of up in the air right now.”
Sanchez said he’s found that esports helps the kids academically as well.
“I’ve noticed that the guys that are in it are the ones in academic decathlon, the ones that are in the classes that are challenging,” Sanchez said.
He has also seen that esports gives kids an incentive to come to school. Even the comfy chairs are a reason to attend.
The students have also been able to meet new people. They had an esports meet recently and it was a good chance for the students to meet in person, as opposed to virtually.
Joel Ramos, a 17-year-old senior, is on the Rocket League and Overwatch teams. He plans to attend UT Austin and study computer science.
Having esports on campus was very different.
“It was a really cool opportunity,” Ramos said. “It’s something that I’ve poured so many hours into; otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to show it, especially on a scholastic level … Competing in these games has been very eye-opening in the sense that I wouldn’t have been able to make the same friends that I’ve been able to or show how much work I put into these games at home and now get to do it at school.”
Ramos confirmed that esports has helped him get more interested in school.
“It’s actually one of (the) classes that I take so it’s definitely something to look forward to throughout the day, practicing, getting better, especially at a school that is very academically focused. It’s definitely a very cool way to compete,” Ramos added.
Matthew Deras, a freshman, also has enjoyed having esports on campus and it has given him even more incentive to attend school. The classes he has before esports are the hardest he has and this is like a breather for him.
He is currently practicing and is a substitute for the Overwatch team.
“I’ve watched a lot of competitions in the past when I was younger and I really wanted to get into it,” Deras said.
Yadiel Hernandez, a 17-year-old senior, said having esports in school has been really fun, not only because they are playing video games but it’s a way of enhancing learning. He’s the captain of the Mario Kart team.
“I feel like a lot of problem solving and strategy goes into playing video games, and it feels like it’s great that we as students get to learn in a fun way,” Hernandez said.
He added that it has helped him academically as well. He’s not sure where he is going to go to college, but he wants to get into journalism.
“I feel like there’s a lot of thinking and strategy when it comes to video games, like I said earlier. I am on the Academic Decathlon team, and I feel like strategizing what we’re doing and how we’re gonna do good on our test also is something that takes strategy and thinking, and I feel like that’s something that I’ve enhanced through video games,” Hernandez said.
He added that he would encourage other kids to get into esports.
“I feel like this class, not only has the video game aspect, but also the graphic design aspect. … It is really useful, especially for future careers that are requiring people to be tech savvy. I feel like it’s a great way of learning, not only that, but also just having fun,” Hernandez said.
