South Kent School debuts gaming team

KENT — A new esports team is set to level up the competitive spirit at South Kent School.

The Cardinals introduced virtual competition to their extracurricular offerings this winter, joining a growing movement among secondary and higher education institutions that embrace the social and cognitive benefits of digital gaming.

“Esports as a whole is an emerging industry,” said South Kent Informational Technologies Technician and newly-appointed esports coach Aron Kowalski.

Kowalski posited that esports — which is the term to describe the expanding world of recreational and professional competitive video games — shares much in common with more traditional team sports, focusing on “communication, leadership and hand-eye coordination” among other skill sets.

Kowalski originally pitched the concept of an esports team to the school.

“We like to call him a founding member,” said South Kent Director of Communications Sarah Chase in a joint interview with Kowalski and co-coach Joe Barowski, who is a calculus and physics teacher at the school.

Kowalski was a longtime gamer himself and saw how bringing competitive esports to South Kent School could perform a unique role amongst the more traditional athletics at the school.

“We’re getting kids from basketball, from hockey, from soccer, even traditional academics — they all sit down and play the same game,” he said. “It’s cool having that sense of unity.”

And the world of esports is exploding, Kowalski affirmed: League of Legends, a popular game that is the focus of Joe Barowski’s Tuesday evening practices, has had championship events hosted at venues as large as Madison Square Garden with prize pools in the millions of dollars.

Chase, who helped launch the team, certified that the esports industry is robust and rapidly growing, having been valued at a global market revenue of $1.8 billion in 2023 and expected to multiply in the next decade.

The success of the market has enabled the creation of scholarships and highly lucrative prize possibilities within the industry, as well as inspired colleges and universities to offer their own funding opportunities for esports athletes. South Kent reports more than $15 million in esports scholarship money available from higher education institutions.

Chase emphasized that the benefit of esports extends beyond the industry itself: “There is a growing demand for people with — what I would call — abilities, skills and knowledge” gained from virtual games within the military and intelligence sectors, Chase said, citing South Kent alumni who have pursued careers in those fields. Chase added that the physical dexterity of gaming prepares players well for careers in things like military or rescue drone operation, while Kowalski maintained that it also cultivates a more general digital literacy.

Having just kicked off in January, the team is still under development. “We’re in the testing stages right now,” said Kowalski. But while it remains a club for now, it is anticipated to be a fully-fledged team sport in the next year. The gaming space is currently equipped with five gaming desktops and all the associated hardware, and Kowalski and Barowski are planning to expand with gaming chairs, additional computers, large screens to review plays — as you would in “football or basketball,” Kowalski said — and a lounge space.

Kowalski reported that the team has about 15 full-time members, but that interest has been high. A recent tournament of the popular game Fortnite drew 64 sign ups out of a total student body of approximately 180, said Barowski. Some students even scheduled their tournament games around other sports commitments just to get a chance to play.

And for parents, there’s no need to worry, Chase attested: “Not to be the nanny in the room, but for the parents’ consideration these games are all age appropriate.”

“No grand theft auto, no,” Kowalski assured.

Chase maintained that though the program is brand new, it has already made an impact in the school and beyond. She said that the admissions office has been receiving inquiries about the team from prospective students for next year.

Kent residents and businesses have also taken an interest in the program since the School announced the launch, Chase added. Community members and local restaurants have offered to sponsor the team through various means, from creating merch to hosting pizza nights.

“You know, it’s kind of captured everybody’s attention and imagination,” she said.