On an afternoon at Franklin Community High School in March, just before schools were shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students gathered to play video games such as “Super Smash Brothers” and “Mario Kart.”
They were drawn in by the opportunity to play the games they love and intrigued by the prospect of competing against other Indiana schools in the fall, in videogame matchups referred to as esports.
Esports have gained steam in recent years and have become lucrative for players at the highest levels. In 2019, the winner of the Fortnite World Cup collected $3 million in prize money. The tournament’s final rounds were held at Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York City.
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While students at Franklin may not be ready to play on the international stage, business and computer science teacher Jon Kowalczyk saw esports as an opportunity to draw more students into the world of computer science and programming via video gaming, Kowalczyk said.
“I first heard about it in July of last year, I went to a two-week computer science training at (Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis) and one of the teachers there who was getting trained with me was one of the founding members of the Indiana High School Esports Network,” Kowalczyk said.
The Indiana High School Esports Network has more than 100 clubs, although none yet in Johnson County, according to the network’s website.
“One of the things I was hoping to do was identify kids who enjoy gaming and connect them with classes where they are creating some basic video games and see if a love for computer science can be created by introducing them to video games and app creation,” Kowalczyk said.
The concepts would fit into the high school’s Computer Science Essentials Project Lead the Way class, available to ninth and 10th graders, he said.
As a track and field and cross country coach for Franklin High School, Kowalcyzk’s competitive nature drove him to explore options to have students who were particularly talented in esports compete against other schools. Each of the first two initial interest meetings for esports at Franklin drew more than 100 students, Kowalczyk said.
In order to help students prepare for competition in the fall, Franklin Education Connection awarded a grant to the school’s esports program. The education foundation provided more than $3,000 for three 50-inch flatscreen TVs and Nintendo Switch game consoles. Students will likely compete in “Super Smash Brothers Ultimate,” “Forza,” “Rocket League” and possibly “Madden 20” in the fall, Kowalczyk said.
Some students are enjoying the camaraderie of playing with their friends, and don’t plan to compete.
“I heard about the club from friends and I loved playing video games since I first picked up a controller,” sophomore Ethan Buening said. “Personally, I’m not here for the tournaments. I’m here to play games like today. I’m not competitive, I’m just here for fun.”
Other students are relishing the opportunity to take their skills to the next level in competition.
“I mostly play with my sister and it gives me a competitive feeling,” sophomore Austin Koehl said. “I heard about this from a call-out to start competing through the Indiana High School Esports Network, which runs esports in Indiana. I can’t wait to (compete).”
Overall, Kowalczyk wants to make sure students can have a fun, safe environment to explore their passion for gaming, Kowalczyk said.
“Our goal is to have a safe, positive environment where kids can play without the bullying that can happen on the internet,” he said.
