New sports option connects high school gamers across the country and beyond

The Oak Grove High School Grizzly Esports Team featuring (from left to right) Zach Bober, Braxdon Boyd, Vincent Bottjen, Coach John Spillman, Jackson Hartley, John Little, Everett Honeycutt and Matthew Corder. {Contributed photo}

What if I told you that as a high school student you could compete in sports without lifting weights, traveling on a bus for competitions or even come into contact with your opponent? You probably wouldn’t believe me, right?

Well, at Oak Grove High School, this isn’t a myth, it’s a fact. The school is home to Davidson County Schools first esports team. Founded last year by OGHS business development teacher John Spillman, the concept is exactly what it portrays itself to be – sports played electronically.  “An esport is essentially playing video games competitively. Games can be all over the spectrum of genres from racing to sports to fighting games and everything in between.”

 Spillman, who has been an educator for 12 years, mainly leads Adobe Academy teaching graphic design using Photoshop and Illustrator and video production using Premiere Pro and After Effects. For Spillman, the concept of turning this dream into reality has been on his radar for years. Classifying himself as a “lifelong gamer,” he noted he enjoys sharing his passion for gaming with his students.

“No matter your walk of life, gaming has a universal appeal, and I want to capitalize on that in the future giving all students a chance to take an active role in extracurricular activities and the school community at OGHS.”
So, how does competition work amongst esports? Spillman explained the concept.

1.     What types of devices are used for esports?

Any device can be used to compete in an esports league. It really depends on the game you are playing. Some games are only available on certain systems. For example, my students play in a Super Smash Brothers League, but the game is only available on the Nintendo Switch. With my Rocket League Teams, they can play on consoles or PC and it supports crossplay for online gaming

2.     OGHS competes via PlayVS. What is that?

PlayVS is an online esports platform specifically designed for high school and college level esports. PlayVS handles the scheduling of matches, player verification and determines what games are supported each year.

3.     In what games does the team compete?

With this being our first official season playing, we are still getting a feel for the program. Because of this, I decided to compete in only two leagues this season: Super Smash Brothers and Rocket League. Super Smash Brothers is a multiplayer fighting game featuring characters under the Nintendo Brand including Mario, Link and others. Rocket League is basically soccer with RC cars but has gained a massive following because of how easy it is to pick up and play. However, the more time you spend with it, the complexity of the gameplay starts to shine through.

4.     How does competition work? How often do you compete?

Competition in any game through PlayVS works like a traditional sport. The spring and fall regular seasons last eight weeks with students playing seven of those weeks and having one “break” week. The regular season wraps up on April 15. Teams that have a high enough standing in their respective leagues will move on to playoffs, which last for two weeks and run from April 18-27. Lastly, championship games will be played during the last three days in April. Competition is also not limited to geographical area like other sports. For example, this past week we played teams in Ohio, Michigan and Toronto.

5.     What is the goal? To win each game?

Compile the most points as a team? Competition works just like any other sport with the team with the most points taking the win; however, scoring points differs between games. In Super Smash Brothers, teams play a best two out of three series of 1v1 matches with the winning team scoring one point for each win. With Rocket League, two teams of three play a series of best out of five games, first to get to three wins takes the victory. So, the ways to score league points varies from game to game.

The esports team is only open to students at Oak Grove. True to the world of gaming, players are allowed to create monikers under the OGHS Grizzlies platform. Teams consist of Grizzly Bytes - Jackson Hartley, Vincent Bottjen and Zach Bober; NRGbutBETTER - Noah Alcon, Vincent Bottjen and Braxdon Boyd; and Team Knockout - Matthew Corder, John Little and Everett Honeycutt.

Currently, the Grizzlies are in their third week of the spring season. Spillman said they’re off to a great start. The Rocket League Teams are ranked 24th and 36th out of 61 Teams in the Eastern Region Conference with a combined record of 3-1. The Super Smash Brothers Team is ranked 43rd out of 84 teams in the league with a record of 4-2.

While coaching the team allows Spillman to do what he loves, it also provides him with a chance to have an impact that extends beyond the classroom. “Ultimately, it gives me another opportunity to build relationships with my students, their parents and other stakeholders in our community.”

Note: The team streams their matches on Twitch at oghsgrizzlylvlup. Additionally, they are on Facebook where they keep fans up to date with matches and news related to their teams.