To elevate skills and friendships within a safe space, esports club members play video games in room 25 everyday after school until 3:15 p.m.
Esports is a club where students can go to play video games and compete against other schools in a non-traditional way. It’s not anything like soccer or football, but rather they play games such as Super Smash Bros, Rocket League, and MarioKart.
“The club is open and accepting of everybody,” esports coach and teacher David Kempke said. “We have all different skill levels for whoever wants to play. Whether you’ve never played the game before or you’ve played it for 10 years, just come give it a shot and see if you like it. We’re here everyday.”
Students have the opportunity within esports to build friendships. The club claims esports is a way to escape from reality and the challenges in school and life. For some of the team members, they don’t have a lot of time to play at home. They find it more enjoyable to play with friends at school.
“I like being able to escape from reality,” senior Kenneth Parker said. “And just have some time to hang out with friends and to play games. “Going home and playing by myself doesn’t seem nearly as fun as staying an hour after school with friends.”
Some of the preferred games are Super Smash Bros, a fighting game with lots of different characters from Nintendo, Rocket league, a game where you play soccer in a car, and MarioKart, a racing game.
“I like to pick the annoying [characters] like Villager from Animal Crossing,” junior Deacon Jasper said. “It’s just super cheesy and dumb, I think it’s fun.”
The club’s competitive events are usually held at Weber State with fall regional tournaments towards the beginning of December and nationals around April and May. Along with their tournaments, they can gain starring achievements. Some of their achievements were their state titles in Super Smash Bros. They have won two years in a row.
“We have a couple state titles from 2022 and 2023, so we’ve had some success there in the Smash Bros and League of Legends categories, but for me it’s seeing kids go on and doing good within their community,” Kempke said.
The club has a YouTube channel where they stream their matches and games. These student athletes practice for this by finding problems and coming up with solutions.
“They just come in and they talk about different strategies in Smash Bros to overcome this character or overcome this combo move,” Kemkpe said. “These kids are still practicing that same movement and same dedication.”
Esports can have a great effect on students and their social skills. Not only do the members rely on good leadership and communication, but they take their friendships outside of school too.
“I played with [the club members] off of school grounds and they’ve taught me new stuff,” junior Bryan Williams said.
Players can have a safe environment when they play in the gaming room. Kempke said he doesn’t allow any sort of rudeness or disrespect. Kids are safe to grow within their skills and relationships.
“I have kids that have told me they have flat out never talked to another kid at Weber High until they were part of the esports club,” Kempke said. “So to me, it helps kids become better. Esports is a place where these kids find a sense of belonging and find a place where people do the same things that they do. They find a place where they can find a friend.”
