E-Sports gaining traction in the Twin Cities

Posted on November 30, 2023

*The Normal West High School E-Sports team competes in about fifteen games, some of those games include Super Smash Bros., Rocket League, and Mario Kart. (WJBC file photo)*

NORMAL – This isn’t your average football game. Thanks to a generous donation upwards of $12,000, Unit 5’s E-sports program is gaining traction.

Generation E-Sports provided a grant, but not in funds. The grant consisted of materials to build six gaming PCs for a new gaming lab. Students involved in the E-Sports program gathered to learn how to build the same computers they will be competing on.

Generation E-Sport’s Account Manager, Peyton Horton, says this is a good way to gain skills for post-secondary education. “It really just opens the doors for more opportunities for students to get involved in the e-sports space, or a career affiliated with those skills.”

Horton said there are numerous career paths students can take when they gain the skill of building PCs and understanding computer technology. The Normal West Community High School (NWCHS) E-Sports team competes in about fifteen games, some of those games include Super Smash Bros., Rocket League, and Mario Kart.

NWCHS E-Sports Assistant Coach, Cody Hatzer said that he is hoping the program can provide a safe space for students that didn’t take to physical sports. “It gives kids that may not have a place in school, a place to come and feel a community and feel like the school can provide them something.”

Generation E-Sports is an organization that not only runs E-Sports tournaments but provides schools with a curriculum to teach students about the careers E-Sports has to offer. This company has been able to provide 25 labs around the country.

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