E-Sports comes to JMA
Jefferson Montessori Academy introduces its first-ever varsity sport!
The school is buzzing with excitement to have our very own esports team. E-sports is a big deal as it’s popularity has risen across the world over the years. The gaming world for high school involves many important rewards such as scholarships, grants, and other special accommodations that help promote this varsity sport to students.
We interviewed some of the students from the E-sports club as well as their coaches. Robbie Camphouse will lead the Varsity team in Overwatch, a team-based multiplayer game similar to that of Fortnite and APEX Legends. Michael Niemeier will lead the junior varsity program in Rocket League, a team-based multiplayer game that you can imagine to be soccer but with cars strapped to rockets.
The coaches Robbie Camphouse and Micheal Niemeier are very excited for their students, and happy they get to do something that offers as much as E-sports does.
One of the E-Sports players, Alex Fredrick, 18 said that he loves to be around everyone in the group and that they are a solid bunch of people that give off lots of good energy. Video games are Alex's safe place and he feels like doing E-sports will make his skill and the skill of his group grow. Alex is not worried about losing any competition, saying he is most worried about letting his team down. Alex says staying in E-sports is actually very easy, as it’s just a matter of having a good attendance record and having decent grades.
Similar to the way athletic programs run, students at Jefferson Montesorri Academy that compete in the esports program, are expected to maintain grades at a high level and keep up with good attendance. This helps to push the students to excel in the classroom in order to be apart of the competition that centers around the competitive world of esports.
JMA’s E-Athletes are held to high expectations:
We expect our e-athletes to achieve at a high level academically and to make appropriate decisions. Students may try out and participate as a team member by:
- Exhibiting good conduct and behavior both in school and during practices and games.
- Meeting the minimum academic requirements of no “F” or “D” grades in any classes.
- Avoiding disciplinary action/make good grades/decisions.
- Commit to being at school.
- Commit to being present for practices and games.
Big Money, Bright Futures!
In the 2018–2019 school year, $15M dollars in E-sports scholarships were awarded.
While the JMA Patriots will be in their first-ever season, the students are excited to compete and see what the esports world has to offer. Scholarships are a major item to compete for in terms of high school sports. Just as every team should do, the Patriots will be setting their goals high.
Our school is very competitive, so let's just hope that we can fight the good fight and have a great time while we're at it. With their coach's guidance and the positive energy of the E-sports club, they can do anything. Good luck to JMA’s E-sports team!
“It’s an exciting time. This community of esports has grown and expanded into our high schools. That is awesome. It gives more kids more opportunities to be a part of a team. To be a part of something competitive. That is a special thing and I hope everyone that is a part of it, is excited.” — Coach Niemeier
