At the beginning of the spring semester, Hempfield High School introduced a new club to its students: e-sports club. Members of the group have been meeting during both the school's new WIN period and after school as they lay the foundation for the new program.

Bill Turner, who teaches digital photography at Hempfield High School, first introduced the idea to create an e-sports team at the school prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Turner and another member of the school's staff researched local teams and acquired permission from the administration but had to place the project on hold in 2020. Once school routines regained a sense of normalcy, Turner approached fellow teacher and video game enthusiast Steven Lied with a plan to get the ball rolling again.

Lied and Turner began laying the groundwork for the program as they explored the resources required to operate a competitive e-sports team. They plan to make the team fully competitive next year, once the players are ready. In the meantime, Lied and Turner are meeting with the tech department and working with school administrators as the students hone their skills as a team.

"It's been really nice to see students come in with a shared passion of video games already," Lied said. "I'm trying to foster that bonding and team aspect, and the students take on a lot of leadership roles."

The students in the e-sports club have been practicing two team-based video games. The first is League of Legends, an online battle arena video game that relies heavily on communication and team strategy. The second game is Rocket League, an arcade-style game similar to soccer. Instead of trying to score goals on foot, each player pilots a vehicle and must work together with his or her teammates to score in a fast-paced setting. "Everybody is engaged and playing during practice," Lied said. "We set high expectations academically and behaviorally. Our goal is to make it a sustainable model for future students." Lied added that he hopes to add more games in the future.

Although students on the e-sports team may be exercising their thumbs more than their legs, many aspects of playing a school sport translate to the virtual extracurricular. Instead of relying on physical prowess, e-sports players practice their hand-eye coordination, communicate with other players, develop strategies and bond as a team. "I think it's no different than any other sport. There are wrong ways to play video games just like there are for football," Lied said. "There are moments where you're going to fail, but you use that as an opportunity to grow and react to setbacks in a positive way." The e-sports club has gained the full support of the school since its inception.

Although many of the teachers may not entirely understand the world of video games, the administration continues to assist with the program's development. Students in the manufacturing class are currently crafting stands for the players' headphones, and the e-sports club was featured on the student-run news show "Hempfield Happenings." "The school has really rallied around this program," Lied said. "It's exciting. I would have killed for something like this when I was in school."