Woodford County High School’s Esports team is growing in numbers and confidence. With an enthusiastic coach in Mark Boain and a roster that has grown from two students to 13 in two years, the team is building friendships, developing leaders and setting its sights on championship competition.
For Boain, the growth means more students can represent their school and find a group where they belong.
“We are a really good organization for kids who normally don’t have other things that they do,” Boain said. “Some kids like physical activity, these kids enjoy video games and have found a place where they can enjoy the games and have a sense of teamwork as well.”
The team practices and competes in the common area near the library and social studies hallway. The location puts the program in view of passing students, making an ordinary walk through school a potential introduction to Esports.
“We have kids who walk by and they’re like, ‘Oh, what’s this?’” Boain said.
He welcomes those questions. Getting students interested was one of his biggest challenges when he started the program, and each conversation offers another chance to bring someone onto the team.
The early jump on the season has Woodford 34th in the state at Super Smash Bros. and 42nd in Mario Kart.
Boain previously served as an assistant esports coach at Frederick Douglass High School, joining midway through a season. He learned how matches worked there, but leading Woodford’s program meant learning everything else that comes with coaching.
There were students to recruit, paperwork to complete and equipment to connect. Students also needed sports physicals, a requirement Boain said sometimes leads to funny exchanges when they explain their sport.
“I need a physical.”
“What sport?”
“Fortnite.”
Boain said the appointments also give students a chance to see a doctor and identify potential health concerns.
Teacher and assistant coach Elizabeth Fitts has helped with paperwork and connecting with students. Boain works at the middle school and said having someone who knows the high school’s students and daily routines has made a difference.
The work is giving returning players more teammates to compete alongside and more reasons to feel optimistic.
Jasper Browning said starting earlier this school year has improved on last school year, when the team began competing in the spring.
“Maybe this time we’ll be able to go to championships,” Browning said.
Although the team lost players to graduation, Browning believes the current group can build on their contributions.
“We have really good players this year,” he said. “Those shoes will definitely be filled.”
Browning also helps spread the word. When talking with potential recruits, he usually starts by asking which games they play. Often, they already enjoy the same games Woodford plays.
Finding time can be the obstacle. Browning knows two students who want to join and play soccer, leaving little room in their schedules.
For those on the team, competition comes with time to enjoy one another’s company.
Browning pointed to a recent Mario Kart match as his favorite example. Before play began, teammates were joking and teasing one another. The good mood carried into the competition.
“Everyone’s having a great time,” Browning said. “And then the match was super fun, because we were able to do that still, and we actually won.”
The larger roster has also helped Audrey Blauser develop as a leader.
Now in her second year, Blauser serves as a Mario Kart team captain and competes in Super Smash Bros. Having more teammates has given her more opportunities to work with others.
“I also have gotten better at being a team captain for Mario Kart,” Blauser said. “I feel like last year, I was kind of just on my own.”
“It really helps having more people.”
She’s also noticed progress in how she handles the pressure of competition.
“I’ve gotten better at not cracking under pressure quite as much, because that was a problem the first year I was here,” Blauser said.
One of her memorable matches this season came in Super Smash Bros., when she played well despite feeling nervous. Her preferred character is Duck Hunt.
For Blauser, being part of a school team gives gaming a different feel.
“It’s not quite the same as playing online against random people,” she said.
Sam Pereslucka enjoys that connection as well.
“Just playing video games in general with other people definitely makes me happy,” Pereslucka said.
At home, he mostly plays Minecraft, along with occasional games of Roblox and Super Smash Bros. When playing Super Smash Bros., he favors Kirby.
Joining the team has introduced him to new people and tactics while giving him opportunities to test himself against other schools.
“It’s been a lot of fun,” Pereslucka said.
He recalled one match in which he had one stock, a remaining life in Super Smash Bros, while his opponent still had two. He came back to win.
“I do have those moments,” he said.
Landon Johnson was preparing for his first competition when I asked him what he likes about Esports. Asked what he enjoyed about being on the team, his answer was straightforward.
“Being able to play the games with my friends,” Johnson said.
He already played at home, but competing adds the responsibility of managing frustration when things don’t go his way. He identified resisting the urge to leave a game out of frustration as one of the challenges.
For Johnson, the attraction remains spending time with friends and playing together in person.
Boain sees students learning teamwork through those experiences. Before they can compete, though, he sometimes has another problem to solve.
Asked about his biggest coaching challenge, he answered quickly.
“Technology.”
Wi-Fi issues can complicate connections between schools and delay matches. Boain compared some of those exchanges to the communication problems during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Can you hear me now?” he said.
Coaches generally coordinate matches through text. Boain said opposing coaches have been cordial, wishing Woodford’s students good luck before play begins.
Once the games start, students have a chance to turn their attention away from a frustrating class or a difficult school day.
Boain hears about those problems when students arrive. Then they settle in with their teammates.
“And then we have fun,” he said, “and we forget all about it.”
Winning matters to the students, but they are also learning how to respond when they fall short. For Blauser, that means keeping one result in perspective and taking something useful into the next competition.
“Even if I lose, like one match, I could recover from that and learn,” she said.