The Kennedy E-Sports team won two state titles in past seasons, including first place in Overwatch 2 last season and second place the previous season. The team is expected to excel this season as well.
E-Sports consists of six games, one of them being Overwatch. During first semester, the Overwatch team was up against Midwest regional schools from other states. Second semester, they play in-state games and compete in the state tournament.
“With Overwatch being such a team-oriented game, the players are building teamwork skills as well as quick problem-solving skills that they can apply in game,” coach Nolan Temple said. “I’d say the biggest thing they gain is the friendships, the game simply isn’t fun if you don’t enjoy who you are playing alongside.”
Temple is a Kennedy alumnus and is in his second year of coaching the Overwatch team. He helps with post-game analysis, recognizes weaknesses in their gameplay and works with players. Temple played E-Sports during the the 2022-2023 season at Kennedy where they went to state and placed second.
“I coach two teams, Smash Brothers and Overwatch 2,” coach Casey Brown said. “For both teams I help with the back end stuff. Work with the captains to set up practice plans based off of previous games and vod reviews. I also set up scrimmages and targeted practices.”
Brown has coached the Overwatch team for two years and the Super Smash Bros. team for one year. Brown sets the structure for practices and games and makes sure that the practices are planned in relation to past games.
“Overall, I am extremely optimistic we will keep growing. We may have some games drop off due to graduation but I think we can grow others,” Brown said.
First semester, the Overwatch team held a record of 32-8. Recently, the team went to the Midwest Regionals going 10-3, losing in the semi-finals, and earning third place overall in the tournament. The team has gone 4-0 for the in-state season and is first in their division.
“I’m not worried about state, we’ll get there when we get there,” Temple said. “There are some promising teams popping up but none are as consistent as us. I’m more worried that our team will be bored of sweeping our entire schedule before state gets here.”
Scheduling games and practices has been proven difficult due to players being involved in other school activities, jobs and trying to keep the players at their best.
“Like any sport, burnout and fatigue is real,” Brown said. “So balancing practices/scrimmages with game days is going to be something we need to watch. We don’t want the team to start getting tired of playing.”
With the scheduling conflicts and worries of boredom, the team is still expected to go to the State Championship. The tournament begins on Feb. 27 in Marshalltown.
“Clean sweep,” Temple said. “I’m not afraid to say that skill-wise, our team is the best it’s ever been. We’ve tested our skills in other tournaments and it’s looking bright.”
Brown believes E-Sports can improve players’ chances of getting into colleges and getting scholarships.
“I really want to start pushing the fact that E-Sports can be a path to college,” Brown said. “I am not sure everyone knows that. So as we keep growing the team, making sure they know it’s more than just playing a game. They can have a future with it and actually get scholarships from it. Ultimately, we want to turn this from a club to a competitive team [and] sport for Kennedy.”