“Esports gives our students who might not be gifted athletically the
opportunity to do something to bring them in and connect with the
school community,” says TCHS coach Tyler Corley.
Before we go any further, let’s
back up a minute and take an honest
look at these purported benefits of
playing and competing at computer
games. We all get how word games
might ward off memory loss, but how
do you explain the benefits of Rocket
League, which, according to Tyler,
is like “soccer with rocket-powered
cars”? Let’s start with the main,
and for some, the most important
benefit: full-ride college scholarships.
That’s right. Colleges recruit gamers
for their college esports teams. “The
National Association of Collegiate
Esports (NACE) currently has 151
112 TOOMBS COUNTY MAGAZINE
member schools with varsity esports
programs,” according to ncsasports.
org. The Next College Student
Athlete (NCSA) website also reports,
“Several schools are beginning to
offer full-tuition, and even full-ride
scholarships.” Never mind that just
like other professional athletes, some
professional esports players can
potentially make millions of dollars.
Now, let’s be good parents and
talk about the “eternal” benefits of
esports–discipline and commitment–
and the practical benefit of
socialization that helps that eternal
stuff connect with others. “Like many
high schools, a significant portion of
the student body does not participate
in anything,” said Tyler. “They go
home every afternoon and don’t do
anything.” The dividing line tends
to run between students who play
a sport and those that don’t, the
athlete and the nonathletic students.
“Esports gives our students who
might not be gifted athletically the
opportunity to do something to bring
them in and connect with the school
community.”
When the GHSA approved
esports as an official varsity sport,
the Toombs County School Board