the associated press
Employees feed trees through a baler Dec. 2 at JC Hill Tree Farm in Orwigsburg, Pa. A white Christmas seems to be slowly morphing from reliable reality to a bit more of a movie dream for large swaths of the United States in recent decades, weather data hints. An analysis of two different sets of 40 years of December 25 snow measurements in the United States shows that less of the country now has snow on the ground on Christmas than in the 1980s.
A local first-year squad was among the best high school teams in the country.
It wasn’t basketball, football or any other traditional sport, but rather esports, a term coined for video games elevated to a competitive level. The game, in this case, was Rocket League, and the team, formed in October, was made of three Greenwood Christian Academy high school sophomores. The playoff run, which stemmed from a regular season that included six wins and two losses, ended with a first-round loss to top-seeded Poly Prep Country Day School of Brooklyn, New York.
Rocket League is a video game that consists of cars hitting a giant soccer ball in an arena to try and score goals. Unlike other sports video games, such as Madden or NBA 2K, Rocket League is free, and was a good starting point for the new esports team. The academy’s inaugural season included a three-person high school team and seven-person middle school team, said Robert Salazar, athletic director.
“I think the biggest advantage is, it allows us to offer more activities to a wider range of students, ones that normally wouldn’t necessarily consider themselves athletes,” Salazar said. “That’s the biggest advantage. … It builds teamwork, camaraderie and friendships.”
One of those friendships had already formed before the esports team was founded. Jeb Byrd, Coen Bauschek and Beck Rich had experience playing Rocket League together, and that friendship and prior experience helped get them into the 32-team nationwide tournament out of about 400 teams competing in the regular season, Byrd said.
“It’s fun to get together with friends and compete with others, that’s the best part about it,” he said. “Before the team was even made, we had played Rocket League together before. You don’t want everyone trying to score (at once). It’s just taking turns, and of course, communicating. If you don’t communicate what you’re trying to do, it will leave your teammates confused. You rotate behind your teammates and be the best teammate you can.”
Unlike other sports which are annual, esports has two seasons, one in the fall and another in the spring. While the fall season wrapped up with the playoff tournament in December, students are already preparing for the spring season, which will start in late February or early March, Salazar said.
The top four teams from both the fall and spring tournaments will travel to Arlington, Texas once the spring season concludes in April. There, they compete and get noticed by scouts with a chance to earn college scholarships, said Jonathan Byrd, Jeb Byrd’s father.
“If these guys keep playing hard and strong together and get more experience, I don’t see why they can’t do that,” Jonathan Byrd said.
After this school year, with assistance from grants, the team hopes to add more games to its repertoire, including Madden and NBA 2k, said Greg Carney, esports coach.
“It definitely gives kids a place to feel comfortable and feel at home,” Carney said. “Usually, when they do that, they tend to work harder at school and have good grades to stay on the team.”
