MUNCIE, Ind. — Zach Houser has been “gaming” competitively since he was 13 years old. Now, the third-year Latin and English teacher at Muncie Central High School is about to make history as the first coach of the school’s eSports team.
“I have a really deep personal passion for eSports,” Houser said in a news release from Muncie Schools. “It’s a way I’ve met a lot of my friends. It’s just a wonderful thing.”
More than 60 students showed up for the first callout meeting last fall, and the majority have stayed involved as the after-school club transitions into a full-fledged team sport that will compete against other high school teams around the state.
“I think we’ll do pretty good,” Alex Monroe, a junior and one of the team’s leaders, said in the release. “I think I’ll be able to rally the troops and get some wins for our school.”
Monroe is one of the more accomplished players on Central’s team by virtue of competing in a number of tournaments on his own. His favorite game is Valorant, a first-person action game that has become quite popular, and he’s enjoying his role as “in-game leader.”
“I tell everyone where to position and what they should do throughout the round,” he said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
Fun is one of the main goals as the squad begins competing not just in Valorant, but also in Fortnite, Overwatch 2 and Super Smash Brothers Ultimate. If the students aren’t having fun, they may not stay involved, which could hinder their academic progress and stunt their overall development as young adults.
“We know that kids that do extra curriculars just do better in general – academically, socially, emotionally, etc.,” the teacher said in the release, “so providing this opportunity for the kids is a really important thing for us to do.”
That’s why Muncie Community Schools decided to repurpose the high school’s old planetarium into an eSports room with roughly $30,000 in gaming computers and accessories thanks to a grant from Indiana GEAR UP. There are 10 individual stations, complete with Bearcat-branded computers, mouse pads and chairs.
“They’re powerful computers,” sophomore Julian Shaffer said. “I like the monitors that go up to 165 Hertz. It’s nice stuff.”
“The machines are designed to help you get better because the mice and mouse pads fit perfectly, and they’re pretty big, so you get enough room to play,” freshman Braxton Johnson said.
Many colleges offer eSports scholarships
As Muncie Central builds its program, it hopes to do more than keep students engaged and entertained. Houser and his assistant, Elliot Lakes, say they hope to hone students’ gaming skills to the point of earning college scholarships.
“We really push the scholarship stuff because a lot of smaller schools especially are offering excellent scholarships for eSports right now,” Houser said in the release.
In fact, according to scholarships.com, at least $16 million dollars is available for eSports scholarships at roughly 200 schools nationwide. Here in Muncie, the Ball State eSports program offers thousands of dollars in scholarships for its varsity gamers. Created in 2020, the team competes in a state-of-the-art facility and has already gained a national reputation.
Muncie Central’s gamers are well aware of the scholarship opportunities, which serve as motivation to reach their gaming potential.
“If I can get the opportunity for (a scholarship), that’s a pretty good way to go to college, in my opinion,” Shaffer said.
“That’d be really cool. That would be a lot of fun,” Monroe said. “You have to be pretty good. I know a lot of the higher-ranked players are on college teams.”
“Not every kid can throw a 90-mile-per-hour fastball,” Anthony Harter, the eSports coach at Northside Middle School said. “Some of those kids need to learn how to be part of a team. Working together is very important, and communication is a big part of it, too.”
Harter started Northside’s program just a couple years ago, and their Rocket League team won the middle school state championship last year. With another team getting ready to start at Southside, all Muncie Community Schools middle schoolers will be able to continue their gaming ambitions at Muncie Central.
Not just for boys
One of the other benefits of eSports is that it attracts a diverse group of students.
“Usually, when you think of gaming, you think of it as a largely male market,” Houser said in the release. “But we’re having a really equal mix of girls and guys show up, which I think is awesome … kids of all (race), kids of all backgrounds. It seems to be a great equalizer in gaming. That’s probably the best part about all of it.”
The Bearcats will compete in their first official varsity competition later this month.
