Its number of professional leagues are rising, its fan base growing; soon, it very well may be considered an Olympic sport. The world of eSports continues to grow—and now Barrington High School students are getting to be a part of that surge.

With the help of mathematics teacher Samuel Schachter, Barrington is joining high schools from all over the United States as they define what it means to play video games competitively, collaboratively and responsibly. 

Initially, Barrington High School Director of Athletics and Student Activities George Finn expressed an interest in exploring an eSports league. And last fall, Mr. Schachter began posting flyers around the school to gauge students' interest. 

He was not expecting 46 curious students to attend the first meeting. 

“It was clear there was a desire, the need was there,” he said.

A few weeks later, the fall season was officially underway. Twice a week, Barrington High School students met after school to practice and compete in PlayVs’s only league at the time, League of Legends—a popular online battle arena game whose objective is to destroy a competitor’s home base before the same can be done to yours.

“It’s like an ever-evolving game; it’s always changing, there’s new patches, that kind of thing, and it’s really important to keep up,” said BHS senior Samuel Soares. 

For him and his teammates, that means continuously reviewing film, talking strategy, working on their communication. That level of commitment carried Barrington’s top varsity team (the school has three overall) on through to the semifinals, where they will now attempt to avenge their loss to Bishop Hendricken here in the spring; their Rocket League team—a new league added by PlayVs for 2019—made it as far as the quarterfinals. It has only been a few short months but already Mr. Schachter has seen improvement in his students’ ability to communicate with one another and work as a team; some of his seniors have even been scouted by colleges based on their skilled performance. 

“It’s incredible to see it kind of transition into a varsity sport,” Mr. Schachter said. 

Though eSports may be new to Barrington, the concept of playing video games competitively has been on Mr. Schachter’s radar ever since discovering Warcraft II during middle school. Yet he knew bringing such an idea to the school district would be complicated, because many games are violent.

“We didn’t want that to be something that defined us; that’s not all video games are—the strategy, the communication, the problem solving is also so much a part of it,” he said. 

Breaking down barriers 

While there are numerous parallels between traditional and eSports, there remains certain contrasts between the two—namely, the fact that eSports is done completely online. 

Though some parents have approached him about their apprehension over their children’s amount of screen time, Mr. Schachter has instead seen those supervised hours practicing and competing after school as a potential learning opportunity. 

“I’m there to coach them through making smart decisions and being responsible online,” he said. 

Mr. Schachter said eSports provides an ability to connect with a wide range of people as they compete against teams located in Rhode Island, across the United States, and in other countries—something not as easily achievable through the means of traditional sports. 

“What they are actually doing is potentially working with a group of people they may or may not know from different backgrounds to achieve a common goal,” Mr. Schachter said. 

Viewing party

To understand and learn more about eSports, Mr. Schachter encourages people to attend the state championship viewing party this Thursday, May 9 at the Barrington High School library. 

Beginning at 2:30 p.m., guests will have the opportunity to hear from PlayVs educational consultant, Clint Kennedy, before watching the Rocket League match at 4 p.m. and the League of Legends finals at 5 p.m.