As you are walking down one of HHS’ halls after school hours, you notice that in one of the classrooms are multitudes of pc’s. The sport consists of many kids in different age groups coming together to play games such as Overwatch. 

“Anyone who is passing all of their classes can try out. The top 6 Overwatch players are on the varsity team and the rest are substitute players or JV,” coach Thomas Gal said. 

Esports is one of the many clubs offered here at HHS. Students from all grade levels have come together to be a part of this team and have fun. Junior Anthony Martinez is the captain of the team while Sophomore Brandon Sluka is the Co-Captain. 

A lot of people in high school, and all over the world, love playing video games and enjoy the adrenaline it gives. 

“Well, it’s very fun (to play) because it’s something we have been doing for years already and it’s an extra activity just to play the games I already play every day,” Sophomore Gabe Elder said. 

Every day after school, besides Friday’s, you will be able to find the Esports team practicing on the third floor. 

Recently, they were practicing for a competition, in which they made it to the state competition. 

“In the state tournament, we were the 16th seed. This means we just about made it to state, as only the top 16 teams would be playing the state tournament. This also means that we would face the number 1 in the state, Francis Howell… we tried (our best,)” Martinez said. 

Although this club is all fun in games, it has certain spots where it gets serious and technical. 

“We go into the room and wait to get invited to the game, but if we don’t have enough players or something happens we have to forfeit,” Sluka said. 

Martinez also stated how although it is fun to play games, it can be a chore at times. Especially in the off-season where they are not actively playing. Although their season is over, they will be right back next year on February 20th. Matches will be able to be seen on twitch. 

“Our previous season, we went 3-3; it’s not bad, but we still have a lot of growth needed to get higher on the rankings. We are affiliated with NASEF, a high school esports league that organizes all of the games,” Martinez said. 

At every practice, the team is working to get better and to understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses.