ADM esports, girls soccer head to state, boys golf finishes fourth at state
The ADM esports team qualified for the state tournament in its first year after making it through the playoffs.
Head coach Chris Hatchitt said he is ecstatic after getting approved by the school board in the fall and beginning the program in the winter.
“We had some growing pains through the Rocket League and learning how things are and the kids really came together and just really embraced everything about esports,” Hatchitt said.
After some early struggles in the winter season, Hatchitt said he has seen a lot of growth in the team to help the kids qualify for state in the spring season.
He said along with improving upon their communication and dedication, the team had to figure out what it takes to be successful in esports, such as buying into practice, going over video review and doing drills.
“It’s them buying into that and understanding what it takes to be good,” Hatchitt said. “It’s not just playing a video game, it’s understanding that ‘hey I’ve got to communicate with my partner, I’ve got to know where he’s at, I’ve gotta know all these items that go into team play.’”
Hatchitt added that it’s not just him leading and talking about strategies at practice, but the kids come in with new ideas to try as well, saying it’s a team effort.
When the team has practices, Hatchitt said there is an organized plan and the team talks about what it takes to be successful and then focuses on understanding maps.
“We have all the kids select six different Mario Kart maps and we mastered those,” Hatchitt said. “So in a part of the competition, each team of two gets to select a map that they want to race and the game randomly selects one of those maps, so we’ve really tried to master these first six maps and get really strong in those, so when our random map comes up, we knew we had confidence.”
Hatchitt said once the team mastered the first six maps, it started adding more and breaking them down in practice.
He added that the kids have bought in and come to practice excited, which he said is the purpose of high school sports.
ADM will compete at the state tournament at 9 a.m. June 1 at the MidAmerican Energy Company RecPlex.
Girls soccer heads to state
The ADM girls soccer team qualified for the state tournament after winning the regional championship on May 25.
The Tigers defeated Glenwood 3-1 in the regional tournament to secure their spot at state.
ADM was led by junior Helen Kirk, who scored two goals, while sophomore Josi Dufoe scored the other goal for the Tigers.
Senior goalkeeper Dani Person made 10 saves in the game to help secure the win.
The Tigers will begin their state tournament run against Pella in the quarterfinals at 12:45 p.m. May 31 at the James Cownie Soccer Complex.
Boys golf finishes season
The ADM boys golf team closed out its season with a solid finish at the state tournament.
The Tigers placed fourth at state with a final team score of 649.
Leading ADM was junior Easton Korell, who tied for eighth with a score of 157. Junior Lincoln Banwart also placed in the top 20, tying for 17th with a score of 162.
Junior Finn Garton and sophomore Grant Jansen were next for the Tigers, finishing 25th and 27th with scores of 166 and 167 respectively, while junior Grant Hickey and sophomore Carter Madison rounded out the scoring with scores of 170 and 172 respectively.
This article originally appeared on Dallas County News: ADM esports, girls soccer head to state, boys golf finishes fourth at state
