Throw everything your parents told you growing up out the window. The countless hours you spent behind the glowing screen of a television playing video games instead of doing homework was not for nothing.
Take it from Mingus Union High School math teacher — and Esports coach — Leo Hartsock. Hartsock is in his first year at Mingus, and in such a short amount of time has made an impact on the lives of several of his students.
A year ago, while still on staff at Flagstaff’s Northland Preparatory Academy, he sought out an alternative to physical sport while his students were stuck at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With a background as a wrestling coach, Hartsock wanted to help students in a team environment without needing to expose his family to the virus.
Thus, the Northland Prep. Esports team was born.
“My old school was looking at how we can get students involved while everyone was stuck at home,” he said. “I’ve liked gaming for forever. I like physical sports also, wrestling was definitely my thing. I knew Esports was a big thing, I just didn’t realize how big.”
The state of Arizona has been one of the more progressive places in terms of sponsoring Esports for schools. The sport is officially recognized as a sport by the Arizona Interscholastic Association, and with the help of the Esports league PlayVS, the AIA puts on fall and spring leagues for high schools across the state.
“When I changed schools I didn’t want to lose that sport,” Hartsock said. “I knew Mingus didn’t have it. It was an easy thing to offer in terms of getting kids more involved that don’t necessarily want to play football or go run track or things like that. It gives more access for kids to stay involved with school.”
Mingus currently holds teams in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, a party-style fighting game for the Nintendo Switch, and Rocket League, a multiplatform game that can be accurately described as car soccer.
Senior Darrus Callaway says he’s played the Super Smash Bros. series since its first iteration on the Nintendo 64, but since joining the Mingus Esports team he’s looked at the game in a whole new way.
“I originally couldn’t fight with any characters to save my life, but now I can hold my own,” he said. “I have more of a concept of how the game actually works.”
The two game offerings are very different. Super Smash Bros. is a game with complicated combos while trying to knock the opposition off of the battle arena, while Rocket League more closely resembles traditional sport.
“You’re looking at a Rocket League match, and if you have any knowledge of scoring a goal on a team, you can follow the sport,” Hartsock said. “There’s a lot more accessibility for people who don’t follow mainline sports.”
Like any other team sport Mingus offers, the teams have starters and reserves. They have wins, losses and playoffs. The dynamic is like any other sports environment you’ve ever been in. The team talks strategy during downtime, and shouts at each other in a playful manner at practice.
“When it comes to soccer there are positions that are assigned, but when it comes to Rocket League you have to kind of assume all of the positions,” said sophomore Gabe Koehl.
For those doubting the legitimacy of the sport, major colleges offer a counterpoint. The Big Sky Conference, of which Northern Arizona University is a member, became one of the first major collegiate athletic conferences to offer scholarships to Esports athletes in 2020.
“If I could get more kids involved collegiately after high school, that would be a huge goal for me,” Hartsock said. “If I can get kids paid for this kind of stuff, that seems like a no brainer … [College coaches] are reaching out. They’re looking for players that want to continue this in college and if I can get kids to continue and get a college education I’m all for it.”
