Move On to the Next Level With ESports

By John Shadle

At 4 PM on Tuesday, March 25th, the Central DeWitt Esports team faced off in a heated game against Williamsburg, where the two teams clashed in Mario Kart. Sadly, our school had lost this game, but not their spirits. As some of our members have shown excellence in their craft and have garnered attention from various colleges around Iowa. Opening up new opportunities for those who had no idea previously what the next step in their education was going to be.

Nathan McDonald and Jeremiah Shadle have made great efforts throughout the year to provide the Esports team with leadership, as well as stability when their coach, Mr. Mercado, is not around for practice. Keeping the members in check, as well as providing useful updates to the team about upcoming games and where each player falls into the ranking. These two have also had colleges ask them about their interest in joining their Esports programs. Offering a special spot for the two of them for their upcoming years after High School. “I have indeed, from Coe College in Cedar Rapids,” said Jeremiah Shadle when asked if he received an email from a college.

  Mr. Mercado, the head coach of the Esports team also had good things to say about the opportunities in the Esports program. “We had two or three different state school representatives at the state tournaments that we attended and they were all offering some form of financial aid.” So not only will you have the opportunity to be contacted via email, but spoken to in person to be offered some form of financial assistance through your college years. 

“I have gotten four scholarship opportunities. As a team, we qualified for Coe College,” said Nathan McDonald. “I also got one from Northwestern College… another one is either Scott or Clinton, and I don’t remember the last one.” For his role as the de facto leader of the team, Nathan has been granted many opportunities for his leadership skills and organization. So much so that not only one college has gotten a hold of him, but four different colleges have asked to join their Esports team. Though if you still think that you will not qualify for college if you just started in competitive gaming, think again. As Jeremiah and Nathan both believe that anyone can get to that level and achieve that level of skill set. 

For anyone still unsure for their plans after high school, Esports is a great place to find something to do and possibly get noticed by a college. “Esports is a great choice because it's something that most people are probably already interested in that go to our school, and if you get good at it, then you get opportunities that you wouldn’t have gotten otherwise,” said Jeremiah Shadle.

“You know who Ninja is? That kid was a millionaire before he was 22 years old. Playing video games, granted he was very good at it… I think people need to face the reality that we live in a different world. And we live in a world where, because of the technology available to us, games are getting better and it's easier to watch people play video games. There is a real marketable audience for people to play games well and to get actual financial support.” Mr. Mercado is a firm believer that Esports is a wonderful opportunity for those who need some kind of financial aid in college or still deciding. Those who are still indecisive, especially seniors, should consider Esports as a valuable tool to help them on their path and pursue a higher education from it. 

When asked how many people were contacted in the previous year, Coach Mercado had this to say: “I know of at least three people that for one year… we qualified for state at every season so for three people to actually be asked or actively seeking to try and participate at the college level for Esports, I think that’s a good percentage given that there were 30+ kids last year. That’s a significant number, that’ll be like 10%.” 10% of the Esports Team last year has been given the opportunity to join a college and given financial aid for their Esports skills. 

If you’re wondering how you can stand out from the crowd and be spotted by a college, the team has already got you covered. Recording every match they enter, as well as practices, the Esports team keeps a regularly updated record of each individual's skill set. “Be seen as a great team member and just be beneficial to your team and be recommended by other schools,” said Nathan McDonald. Like other sports, the way you perform matters. For if you perform well on one thing, you’ll perform well on other things and colleges see things that way.