Esports: How the rise of competitive gaming has made its way into Long Island high schools

A line of desks sat against the wall of Bellmore JFK’s General Interest room. From left to right there was a signature video game console, from the Atari 2600 to the Nintendo 64 to the Game Boy.

Above those desks was a poster, reading, “Bellmore-Merrick Esports.” And just like the classic devices underneath it, it too represented a significant shift as casual gaming after school became competitive gaming inside John F. Kennedy High School.

The Bellmore-Merrick Esports program was born during the 2019-20 school year as the COVID-19 pandemic crippled sports and social events alike. David Prince, the district wide mathematics chairperson, wanted to offer students an outlet to socialize and compete during a period without much of either.

“[There was] a lot of skepticism,” said Prince, the Bellmore-Merrick Esports founder. “Video games were thought of as solitary, like, what is it adding to the school community?”

But once students heard about it, Prince said there was an “enthusiastic reaction.”

“I think most importantly, Esports attract a demographic of kids that are underserved by the school,” Prince said. “We have a lot of [English as new language] students that come, a lot of students with accommodations and a lot of students on the spectrum.

“These are students where Esports are their only club. If it wasn’t for Esports, they wouldn’t have that connection to the school community.”

What began with a single League of Legends team with around 10 kids across the whole district — including Calhoun, Mepham and neighboring middle schools — has blossomed to nearly 200 total participants, with pop-ins adding to that total. Bellmore JFK then joined the High School Esports League, where it competed with schools in the Northeast in a regular season, playoff and championship format.

If that sounds like a varsity sport, that’s exactly how Prince views it.

“It’s grown incredibly. I used to show them a picture of a high school football team from 1910,” Prince said. “At some point people were like, ‘Why are you playing football in high school? What does this have to do with school?’

“Now you can’t imagine school without football, and I think in 10, 20, 50 years, Esports is going to be part of the fabric of high school life.”

Esports coach James Alford, who hosted Esports tournaments at Binghamton of around 90 people, also pointed to the growth on the college level.

“I had a kid who did Esports for four years. He just graduated and immediately emailed me in September [with a picture of St. John’s Esports lab] saying, ‘I wish we had this,’ ” Alford said. “Once that ripples down, there are scholarships and Esports teams. I think recognition is going to be a lot like any other sport.”

Tournament time

A sport-like feel certainly encompassed the Bellmore JFK Super Smash Bros tournament on Jan. 29. Contestants shook hands before and after their matches. Smiles grew wider as in-game advantages were had; cheers followed from onlooking club members after a climactic finish.

In a double-elimination bracket — three lives per game in a best-of-three format — junior August Soontarodon took first place with his main character, King K. Rool, against senior Conor McMillan’s Pyra/Mythra.

“It was shocking, I’ll be honest,” Soontarodon said with a laugh. “It’s very stressful, but I’m happy.”

Soontarodon, McMillan and Jacob Moont — who finished first, second and third — plus the rest of the top eight finishers from Bellmore JFK will host March’s district-wide tournament featuring the top eight performers from Calhoun and Mepham. A fourth school may be included as well to crown a Nassau champion.

Moont, a senior, uses Lil Mac. Asking him why showed a bit of the camaraderie born from a group setting.

“He’s the worst character in the game, so I decided to main him,” Mount said.

“Because he plays the worst character so well, it makes it worse when you lose [to him],” McMillan added.

McMillan noted the value of having a space where like-minds can meet and compete in Esports in person, holding more value than a Discord conversation can.

“I think it’s a cool thing. It’s something we do as a hobby, and for a lot of hobbies you don’t have a source to actually do something fun in a big group,” McMillan said. “It’s a good environment for us to play together.”

What’s next?

The program currently holds monthly “open plays.” Alford, who hosted Esports tournaments of nearly 100 people during his time at Binghamton, said the program plans to join PlayVs in the coming seasons.

It’s one of the preeminent high school Esports organizers, allowing them to potentially expand upon the games the program already specializes in: League of Legends, Rocket League, Super Smash Bros, Overwatch, Valorant and Chess. All the options amid a budding Esports program leads students like Soontarodon to embrace the challenge.

“It allows me to join the competitive community,” Soontarodon said. “I wasn’t really able to play competitively at all before I joined the Mario Kart Deluxe team, and we did this high school tournament in the fall and the spring.”

Soontarodon, with his trusty Rowlet Pokémon in his shirt pocket, held a first-place trophy in the shape of a Nintendo Switch at the conclusion of the event. At his side stood McMillan and Moont, all as teammates in the end.

“Just playing with your friends," McMillan said, "you can be better than you think you could be."