What is a sport? According to Oxford Languages, it is “an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment.” When you think about the word physical the first thing that usually comes to mind is moving around or exercising. I doubt one of the things you thought of playing video games. However, if you think about it, video games check off every requirement to be considered a sport. Is it an activity that requires physical exertion? Check. Does it require skill? Check. Are there two teams or more that compete against each other for entertainment? Check. Almost every sport has a professional league(s) so what do you call a professional video game player? It’s quite simple actually: Esports.

“I believe it is a sport purely because there are people that are way better than me at it. Professional esports gamers think about the game in ways that use mathematical logic, learning, etc required to play the game, it is a competition.” What Cole Jones head coach of the Esports club meant by this is that esports requires similar forms of expertise that other sports require. As the online world advances, Esports grows alongside it. Esports is a fairly new sport, however it is one of, if not the fastest growing sport. It began in 1972 when two Stanford University students had a competition on a video game called Spacewar for a grand prize of a year-long subscription to Rolling Stone magazine. Nowadays in Esports, the grand prizes can be in the millions of dollars. With competitions and tournaments happening every so often with millions of dollars for the grand prize anyone and everyone would want to compete. 

At first glance, gaming looks easy and simple, but that’s not the case. A skilled video game player who goes to Eaglecrest named Riley Katsman said that “Video games, especially the one’s professionals play, can be extremely challenging at times” He explains that professionals make playing video games professionally look easy, however, they involve a plethora of skills.  Almost every video game that has a professional league involves lots of skills inside and outside of the game. Specific games such as Apex Legends or Overwatch require almost superhuman reaction speed to be played professionally and game mechanics in these games need to be completely understood and used well within the game to win. With the list of skills and requirements seeming endless one could only wonder how to get good enough to play professionally. 

This raises the question: How do I compete? How do I become a professional? With many kids and adults asking the same question, we went to the head coach of the Eaglecrest Esports club Cole Jones to get an answer and he had this to say. 

“I think video games are a fantastic and fun hobby,” said Cole Jones].

He also said that “ video games are a great escape, however, Esports being a relatively new sport and the fact that there isn’t a need for new pro players makes it an unreliable career path.” “In ten years though, when Esports has gained more and more popularity and there is a need for more professional players then and only then, will esports become a reliable career path.”

Like any other sport or activity, repetition and participation is the main way to get better , though there are other ways of developing your game skills, perhaps taking the first steps and joining a club. 

The newest addition to the Eaglecrest activities and clubs is the Esports club. Games such as Rocket League or League of Legends will be played and eventually mastered. With high hopes and high scores, the Esports club at Eaglecrest is sure to become a great club.