Esports "is probably the hottest thing taking off across the country," Superintendent Dr. Shawn Foster said. And Esports skills tie into real-world experiences.
"If we don't embrace some of these things, it will take over anyway," Foster said. "We have to find programs that our kids are interested in. This is one of those things. This is something I am excited to offer our students."
The district cut the ribbon for its Esports lab on Thursday. It has 21 stations where students will be able to enhance their skills in an interactive environment to learn teamwork, strategic thinking and digital literacy.
The lab is located in classroom space that has been renovated for the lab.
"It is not just about gaming," Foster said.
A case in point: the Federal Aviation Administration is seeking gamers to serve as air traffic controllers. Foster said an 18-year-old can make a starting annual salary of $92,000 as an air traffic controller.
The lab will work like any other high school sport or extracurricular activity, where students will attend team meetings, practices and official matches.
The program will have both a varsity and a junior varsity team, Coordinator of Career and Technical Education and K-12 School Improvement Robert Hemby said.
Hemby said students will have to try out to be a part of the Esports lab. It will include a number of sports such as football, basketball, volleyball and track and field.
Hemby said there will be academic requirements to be a part of the Esports program.
"Some may came here thinking this is about playing video games," Hemby said. "It is bigger than that."
He noted there are plans to provide Esports in the eastern and western parts of the county.
Players will compete from their campuses, supervised by a coach. Teams will be able to compete in regular season matches as well as tournaments and playoffs.
Since Esports is played online, there is no travel required throughout the regular season.
Hemby related how the Esports concept came to the Orangeburg County School District.
He received a call from his friend Isiah Reese in September about an Esports opportunity coming to the school district.
Reese, a South Carolina State University graduate, is the CEO and co-founder of Blaze Fire Games, a licensed digital gaming and Esports career pathway provider.
Hemby said he informed Foster about the opportunity and the rest is history.
He noted Esports has grown rapidly in the market. Esports spending grew from $56 million in 2014 to $516 million in 2023, Hemby said.
Orangeburg Career and Technology Center Director Steve Williams said a lot of work has gone into the creation of the Esports lab.
"We were intentional about getting students to come in," Williams said. Students helped create the lab by building the chairs and setting up the computers and monitors.
"This is going to create a buzz. This buzz is going to turn into enrollment numbers for us. We are looking for a 10 percent to 15 percent increase in our enrollment as a result," he said.
Williams said the lab ties into the existing game design and development program as well as cybersecurity, computer programming and the technology center's digital arts program.
"Prior to this, these opportunities just didn't exist in our district," Williams said. "If we can bring something to our kids that will give them a shot at earning some of this money or accolades, we want to do it."
Technology Center digital arts teacher Kevin Glennon will serve as the coach for the district's Esports.
"There are growing opportunities in the future and the most successful and available jobs are going to be in STEM," Glennon said.
Glennon says gaming can open doors to computer engineering and character design artistry.
"The students at the Technology Center here will have an opportunity to compete in this industry," Glennon said.
Lake Marion High School student Drayton Carson praised the work done by the school district to make the lab.
"This is the next form of entertainment," Carson said. "YouTube, Esports, gaming, Twitch, everything is that the peak right now."
Reese said there are currently 718 colleges and universities in the United States that offer full gaming scholarships.
He said S.C. State and Blaze Fire Games are planning to partner to offer a dual enrollment Esports/cybersecurity bachelor's degrees with plans also to collaborate with Claflin University.
"We are going to teach how kids to build their games and they will also own their games," Reese said. "We will need to get the school district on board."
"We're really excited about what is happening here," Reese said.
©2023 The Times and Democrat (Orangeburg, S.C.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
