St. John's Prep esports team seeing growth in its fourth year

COLLEGEVILLE ― As students are attending St. John's prep for it's 166th academic year, its esports team is only beginning it's fourth year with coach Charles Miller, who is also a teacher at the school.

The team began in 2019 with a competition pool that was so limited, it had to compete in multiple leagues. In 2019 they competed against a high school in Missouri and a college team in New York. Now the Minnesota Varsity League, a high school esports league for Minnesota high school students, has grown to a point where they can just play in only the MNVL.

The local Catholic day and boarding college preparatory school gave the Times an inside look into its team practice. Like any coach, Miller guides his team to success, sometimes fixing software issues with short notice. While speaking with the Times, Miller helped a student with a reoccurring issue of game being reformatted to Spanish.

At the time of the visit, team members ranging from eighth graders to seniors were playing a wide range of popular games like Minecraft, League of Legends and Fortnite. The varsity team was playing Valorant, a popular free-to-play first-person shooter game.

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The school is very selective of the games it chooses. Unlike other popular game series like Battlefield or Call of Duty, the violence in Valorant is unrealistic and not based in reality, so it is more appropriate for students to play. "No parents complained to us about it," Miller said. "As a prep school we look to colleges to see what titles are being offered scholarships for."

Will St. Hilaire is one of the first team members in the school's history, now starting this year as a senior. He's utilizing the skills he has developed to assist the school in broadcasting games for the public to view on Twitch, a live video streaming service with a heavy focus on video game streaming. As a high school senior, St. Hillaire was already hired by MNVL to assist in all broadcasts across the state.

When asked how St. Hilaire got into the game, he said "I've always liked playing competitive games… when COVID hit, that's when I really started playing a lot, and got a lot better." He was able to join the varsity team last year. For a career path, he says he wants go into broadcasting .

Miller said there is a positive correlation between school esports programs and career path interests in STEM. "That's why I'm working really hard to get girls to play," Miller said, referencing the gender gap in STEM fields.

Another benefit of esports is that competitions are rarely canceled so long as there is a stable internet connection. Miller said when the COVID pandemic began, "all the other sports had to shut down but we were able to keep competing and the kids competed from home."

Esports and video games are sometimes associated with having a toxic culture in chatrooms. Miller cited the GLHF (Good Luck Have Fun) pledge, which according to the AnyKey website who created the pledge, by signing it "you promise to make a difference as a positive and inclusive citizen in your own gaming spaces." Like any athletic team, esports players for schools are upheld to the same standards in conduct.

In 2019 the team had about 15 members competing. Although the final numbers have not been posted, Miller said there should be around 40 when it's completed.

The team will also be recruiting three assistant coaches this year.

This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: St. John's Prep esports team grew, competition popular in Minnesota