Otterbein’s esports team is mid-way through their first season of the school year, and many students have taken the opportunity to compete in competitive gaming.
Nevin Horne is the director of esports leading many teams this fall season and expecting to add more in the spring season. Horne has been an esports coach at other colleges such as the University of Houston where he led the Overwatch team to finish among the top 40 teams in the country during the spring 2023 semester.
Horne describes his coaching tactic as “shocking the indecision out of them,” because in these fast-paced games, “the moment you stop is the moment you lose.”
The esports teams are a part of two leagues, the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) and the Eastern College Athletic Conference for Esports (ECAC Esports.) In NACE, Otterbein is a part of the varsity plus level, allowing colleges to have multiple teams per game and get placed in conferences based on skill level rather than location. The ECAC is completely based on ranking and usually includes sports titles and more niche games; some games Otterbein students play are Madden, Fifa, EA Sports FC and Rainbow Six Siege.
Practices are usually filled with scrimmages, drills and using other resources outside of the game, like a program called KovaaK’s.
“It’s called aim training, but it’s basically like a program where you can practice specific targets that are hard to hit. You basically just practice the raw mouse movements that you're doing in a game without any of the other distractions,” said Halen Hamstead, a junior majoring in systems engineering who plays on the Valorant team.
Working with other students in an environment like the new arena at The Point, helps the team improve on their skills. Benjamin Sommer, a junior majoring in business admin and management, plays on the Valorant and Overwatch teams and knows he has much to improve on his skill level in Valorant but sees this team as a valuable opportunity to do that.
Sommer said that being on a team holds players more accountable and depending on how someone takes that advice, it can steer them in the right direction.
“If you let it put you down, it’s gonna be a disadvantage, but if you learn from that mistake I think it could be a huge advantage when it comes to long-term improvement that you're not gonna get playing alone," Sommer said.
Many students on the team used to play in physical sports and while they don’t find esports to be nearly as demanding, there is a level of mental readiness needed before a game.
“The teamwork aspect is incredibly similar, you kind of form the same bond with your teammates," said Hamstead, who used to play tennis. "There’s a little bit less of that trauma bond with real sports because you're pushing yourself to the point of exhaustion every day … It’s kind of like the fun without the physical hard work.”
Sommer played soccer throughout high school and applies similar communication skills to the esports teams now, “It’s a big thing having team experience coming in … it translates no matter what you do.”
Sommer is working on creating an esports club for any students who want to get better at gaming but don’t have the time commitment to join a team. Playing with new technology in the arena and learning from others can help students improve their strategy. Those interested can join the discord group to learn more information.
