Sponsored Content SportsEngine, a brand from NBC Sports Next is the leading provider of Sport Relationship Management (SRM) software, empowering athletes, parents, coaches, and sports organization administrators with tools and services to manage their organizations and sports lives. Read SportsEngine stories How to Play Esports in High School by Carlson Chan Vanta February 2, 2023 | 2 minutes, 14 seconds read As esports have increased in popularity, so has the awareness of their benefits. Creating an esports club in your high school is a convoluted process. In this article, you'll find the general steps for teachers and students to start a high school esports club. There are many benefits to participating in an esports club. Refining teamwork, increasing social-emotional skills, and honing responsible decision-making are only a few of the attributes needed to succeed. Schools have also begun to see the same benefits and discovered the enormous untapped potential for growth for students with a roaring passion for video games. Find games people are passionate about Esports requires passionate players with the drive to improve at the game. Esports leagues participate in casual games that are easy to start, like Mario Kart or Rocket League, or more complex games, like League of Legends or Starcraft. No multiplayer game is off the table. If you’re a student in a school without an esports club, perhaps you can take the lead on establishing one! Any successful club grows alongside the interest of its members, so it could be helpful to advertise your intention to create a club to gather interested members. Finding a teacher or staff member who’s also passionate about video games and esports adds another layer of authenticity and visibility to your club. Narrow down to your first game Once you’ve established a few games your community is interested in, it’s time to narrow down your selection based on what’s financially feasible for you. Since you’re likely just starting out, your budget will probably be low or nonexistent. This would mean games that require one device per person will likely be more expensive, like League of Legends or Fortnite. What’s more financially feasible would be couch co-op/versus games like Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros, and Street Fighter. These games only require one console and multiple controllers, which is much more portable and cheaper than bringing numerous PCs. Once you're ready to host a tournament, choosing a game that’s easy to watch and understand can be beneficial. Games like Mario Kart and Wii Sports are intuitive to play and fun to watch. These games are a great choice, so those who come to watch your tournament may be driven to join the tournament themselves next time. Read the Full Article at Vanta Disclaimer Guest posts are provided by parents, coaches, admins, and athletes. They are a direct view of the author's views and experiences. They are not a direct reflection of NBC Sports Next's mission or beliefs. About Carlson Chan Carlson “Pokarlson” Chan is a League of Legends coach, writer, and streamer at Vanta Leagues. Having graduated from the University of British Columbia with a major in Psychology and a Minor in Interpersonal Development, he seeks to find more opportunities to further bolster his knowledge of mental growth through the experience of playing team video games. His passions as a writer lies in the mindset and discipline required to optimally improve at video games and the mental benefits that especially come from playing League of Legends. With a passion for video games and a dream of being a youth counselor, Carlson was beyond excited to discover the opportunity to utilize both by becoming a coach for Vanta Leagues. As a coach, he was able to not only utilize his wealth of knowledge in League of Legends to help his players but to also practice coaching and counseling skills to further his own counseling career. He hopes to one day (soon!) be accepted into a Masters in Counseling Psychology. When Carlson isn’t coaching or playing video games, he brings that passion into experimenting with wacky recipes, often with peanut butter or various kinds of cheese. Connect with Carlson Chan sports in this article Esports tags in this article Athlete Parent SportsEngine