Local Esports Programs Brimming With Opportunity

With the advent of video games in the late 1950s, it didn’t take long for the pastime to become competitive. 

Stanford University hosted the earliest recorded video game contest in 1972, in which students competed by playing the intergalactic combat game “Spacewar!” to win a year’s subscription to “Rolling Stone” magazine.

That friendly competition has since blossomed into a multi-billion dollar industry. Played both solo and on teams, many schools are now acknowledging esports — short for electronic sports — as a legitimate competitive sport, similar to chess. 

Local school districts are no exception. Both Kirkwood and Webster Groves high schools launched esports programs in 2022. St. Louis Community College, which employs a full-time esports coordinator, started its program last semester.

Ryan Evans, head esports coach at Kirkwood High School, said the school’s “gamer club” existed for at least 10 years prior to entering the esports arena.

“Students brought in their own equipment and we just played video games together,” said Evans. “But in 2022, a student, Charley Crews, said she wanted to compete with other high schools. I asked the principal if we had any budget for this, and he gave us $1,000 for some Nintendo Switches. Charley got seventh in the state that year, and is now on an esports team at Truman (State University).”

During the inaugural year of the Kirkwood High School esports team, students played mostly from home due to a lack of classroom space. After a recent renovation, however, the team now has its own room with comfy “gamer” chairs and lightning-fast computers.

“Through student services in our strategic plan, Kirkwood found money that aligned with community and belonging,” said Evans. “They found that this program represents future career opportunities and future skills, so they gave me a $75,000 budget (for it).”

Middle and high school esports is managed statewide by the Missouri Scholastic Esports Federation. The 501(c)(3) organization was started by educators in 2019, and is run entirely by volunteers.

Webster Groves High School Assistant Principal Tony Gragnani serves as president of the federation. Gragnani, who will take over as the high school’s principal in July, is responsible for starting Webster’s esports program. 

“What’s very different in esports versus traditional athletics is that our students are the experts. The games are always changing, and it’s impossible for our coaches to keep up,” said Gragnani. “So esports coaches are more responsible for helping students learn to be part of a team, make a commitment, practice and face adversity.”

According to Gragnani, while many students are accustomed to playing video games in isolation, being on an esports team helps them break out of their shell and develop soft skills like teamwork and communication.

“When I joined the team I was very quiet and reserved,” said Webster Groves High School esports player Charline Mangrich. “Now, one could say I’m very talkative and social.”

Kirkwood esports player Elliot Manley agreed, adding that team synergy is just as important in esports as with any other sport.

“It also improves mental capacity,” said Manley. “You have to manage so many things and multitask. After doing that for so long, you’re able to understand more and think more concisely.”

Ken Winingham, an esports coach at Webster Groves High School, said the program serves a previously underserved population of students who might not be interested in traditional sports, but still seek a competitive team environment.

“We have all these kids who are really skilled and want to be part of something. Until then, they had no way to do that. Now, we have jerseys,” Winingham said, noting that while Webster Groves High School’s team is formally still the Statesmen, unofficially, the team is now The Wizards.

Scholarships & Career Opportunities

While millions of video games exist, the Missouri Scholastic Esports Federation has narrowed the titles to just 14 officially sanctioned games — though the list can and does change based on relevancy.

All games are playable on either personal computers or the Nintendo Switch, a gaming console released in 2017. Competitive titles include racing games such as Mario Kart, team-based first-person shooters like Valorant and Overwatch, and fighting games such as Super Smash Bros., as well as strategy card games like Hearthstone. Super Smash Bros. is offered in both solo and “crew battle” formats.

The federation also features a “Star Division” for middle and high school students with disabilities, with options including virtual pinball and badminton. As with athletic sports, competitive opportunities for different games are offered in different seasons.

Both Kirkwood and Webster Groves  high schools have proven their merit since starting their esports programs. In the past two years, Kirkwood has twice placed in the top four in solo Super Smash Bros., with Webster earning first in the fall of 2024. Hixson Middle School took third in Super Smash Bros. crew battles in both 2023 and 2024.

In addition to bragging rights, students who participate and succeed in esports can earn educational opportunities. Many colleges, both local and out of state, offer scholarships to esports players including Saint Louis University, the University of Missouri-St. Louis and William Jewel College. Maryville University in Town and Country, considered one of the best colleges for esports in the country, offers up to $2,000 a year for esports players. 

While much emphasis is placed on playing the game, Robert Cruz, esports coordinator at St. Louis Community College, said there are plenty of adjacent interests and career paths for students in the industry.

“I don’t want this to be strictly players and coaches. There’s a lot of opportunities in esports,” said Cruz. “There’s social media managing, shoutcasting, production, graphic design. You can get your feet wet here, and when you go out into the real world you already have some experience.”

Shoutcasting is running commentary of esports matches, intended to engage and inform the audience, as a commentator does in traditional sports. Cruz said the team streams online weekly and employs some students as shoutcasters. He’s also working on setting up face cameras for audiences to see players reacting live during games.

Cruz, who played Overwatch at the University of Minnesota, has a background in strength conditioning and personal fitness. Before taking the job at St. Louis Community College, he piloted the esports program for the parks and recreation department in Hillsborough County, Florida.

He said running esports at the community college level presents a unique challenge.

“We’re a two-year institution. Everyone here now might not be here in the fall,” Cruz said. “With such small teams and roster cap sizes, it’s not like baseball where I can transition someone to another position. We have to be constantly recruiting.”

Ringolds Bagwasi, a sophomore at St. Louis Community College-Meramec, has been playing video games since high school. Before coming to America, he lived in the European Union, where he played Valorant competitively. 

“When I was a competitive swimmer, I never really had to worry about what my teammates were doing. But with esports, it’s more of a team mentality,” said Bagwasi. “It’s amazing how a group of seemingly random people can come together and be so cohesive and accurate about achieving the goals we want to achieve. 

“I’m really happy about how the last two semesters have gone,” he continued. “This is my last semester here. It’ll be hard to leave, but I’m excited to see how far STLCC will go with this program.”