eSports debuts at MHS

Monday, January 27, 2020
The eSports team at McCook High School competes in a scrimmage against Grand Island North West. From front left are Nate Priebe, coach, Payton Warren, Bryce Dutton, Matthew Pochop, Aiden Barger, Logan Foster, Reese Dellevoet and Tim Troxel.
Bruce Crosby/McCook Gazette

McCOOK, Neb. — Move over football, basketball and other competitive high school sports — there’s a new game town and the playing field is digital.

A newly organized eSport club at McCook High School will join 20 other high school clubs in Nebraska, where gamers compete online with other schools via the Internet. They all belong to the non-profit Nebraska Schools eSports Association.

The MHS club began this year when students came to him requesting to start one, said McCook High School principal, Jeff Gross. Nate Priebe, Network Administrator at McCook Schools, came on board as the club sponsor. “A lot of these kids were already playing at home so we thought, why not get them here,” Priebe said.

He’s the first to admit that the world of esports is not well known. “People have a hard time thinking video games as a sport,” Priebe said, a grad of MHS and a three-sport athlete during high school. He likened eSports to another skill-based game, bowling. But eSports requires additional mental skills sets, he said, such as strategy, critical thinking, communication and the ability to think fast.

And it’s a lot more popular than people think, he said. It’s become a billion dollar industry with sponsorships, national and international championships and even college scholarships, including those given in Nebraska, Priebe said. Full and partial scholarships are being offered at Bellevue University and Midland University to play on their eSports teams. Abroad, it’s even more popular, with championship winners having rock-star status. It’s even spawned its own lexicon, with ”shout casting,” a variant of broadcasting, where people do a commentary of gamers competing.

There are 20 colleges nationwide already offering eSports programs, where students learn marketing and management skills for the gaming industry. Priebe added gamers can use the skills they learn in gaming toward college degrees in technology, video production and broadcasting.

McCook’s club has about 25 regular members, all with parental consent, representing a wide variety of students, including basketball. wrestling and swim team athletes and a class officer. They compete in teams of five against other schools, mostly online. But traveling to another school to compete or hosting a meet here is also an option.

That’s because sometimes, the Internet can “sputter” and lag, causing unfair outcomes, Priebe said.

The club recently competed in a scrimmage against Grand Island Northwest in a “League of Legends” competition. McCook lost, but GINW had a player that’s being recruited for the college level and was “extremely hard to slow down,” Priebe said.  

McCook’s firsts official game starts Thursday against Thayer Central.

The club in McCook is comprised of all males, something Priebe — and club members — want to change.

“We want to make this as open and inclusive for everyone,” he said, noting that his wife, Haley, also a teacher, plays almost as much as he does.

In fact, the recent scrimmage against Grand Island Northwest had a female team member and there are other schools in Nebraska with female members, Priebe said. “It may take some time, but we’ll keep the word out,” he said.

Still, Priebe is excited about the future of eSports. “I would love to see someone get their college paid for,” he said.

“The potential in eSports is incredible.”

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