By Jason Wesseldyk
Sports Editor
A group of 11 students recently made history at Otsego High School.
They are part of the school’s inaugural Bulldog Esports Club, which held its first competition on Wednesday, Feb. 12.
The Otsego team took on the team from Loy Norrix in the game Rocket League, with Otsego taking the best-of-five showdown 3-0.
Otsego won by scores of 6-0, 4-0 and 5-0.
OHS English/computer science/business teacher Sara Badiner serves as the club’s advisor.
“Our first competition went well,” Badiner said.
Team members include Jack Badiner, Jarred Curtiss, Caesar Henshaw, Lucas Johnson, Amarra Kuiper, Blake Moulter, Ethan Pegg, Max Ott, Gabe Radcliffe, Cordell Stoneburner and Tristan Walma.
According to Badiner, one reason the team chose Rocket League as its game because many colleges are currently recruiting Rocket League players for their esports teams.
That’s right. Students can earn college scholarships through esports, as more and more colleges are creating esports teams.
“I figured if we could have a team, we should also use it to our advantage by choosing a game title that might create another way for students to potentially earn money for higher education,” Badiner said.
The varsity competition includes teams of three competing against each other. JV matches are also best of five, but are 2-versus-2.
Otsego’s JV teams weren’t able to get matches against other schools last week. But they did scrimmage each other, and were able to earn points toward league competition in the process.
Otsego joined the Michigan High School eSports Federation (MiHSEF), which is made up of a large number of Michigan schools.
The team meets for formal practice one day a week for approximately two hours. In addition to that, team members frequently practice and challenge each other outside of school.
Practices and competitions take place in the school’s esports room with regular-season competitions all online. The only in-person events are the playoffs.
While this is the first year for the Bulle Esports Club, it’s something Badiner has been interested in starting for several years, dating back to before the COVID pandemic.
Then during the pandemic, she noticed that video games provided one of the only ways for her sons to connect with their friends.
“I started to realize how gaming was such a crucial part of this generation and their social interaction,” she said.
Badiner also appreciates the problem-solving aspect of esports.
“My son Jack, who was 10 at the time, was playing a game on his Nintendo Switch online with one of his friends,” she said. “This version of the game didn’t have any way to communicate with other players, but it had audio that was important to game play.
“I watched Jack troubleshoot all the problems. It seems trivial, but this image was pivotal to my understanding of the importance of esports. I knew this was something we could bring to school and start fostering in our students.”
Thus began Badiner’s journey to making the Bulldog Esports Club a reality.
OHS principal Thomas Reed was all for the idea, having come from a school that had an esports team.
“(Reed) had already seen, firsthand, the benefits of a club like this,” Badiner said.
Those benefits, in addition to the problem-solving aspect, include allowing students who might not otherwise participate in a school-related activity the opportunity to do so.
“I really wanted to create an inclusive space where students who love gaming could connect, compete and develop skills like teamwork, strategy and problem-solving,” Badiner said. “Otsego has a very diverse population of students. However, the extra-curricular activities we offer tend to be pretty traditional: athletics and music.
“There is a large group of students who want to be part of a team, who want to feel like they are part of something, but aren’t because they aren’t athletic, can’t sing or don’t play an instrument. This team provides another avenue for students to participate.
“There are kids on this team who have never had the opportunity to represent their school or to wear an Otsego jersey, and they are so excited to have this chance. It’s so important for our kids to feel like they belong.”
After a survey to gauge interest in the club resulted in more than 50 students indicating a desire to learn more, Badiner took the idea to Otsego Public Schools superintendent Jeff Haase for final approval.
As Badiner educated herself on how the club would function and what would be needed from a technology standpoint, she received some welcome news: The Otsego Public Schools Foundation wanted to make a significant financial donation to the club.
“The Otsego Public Schools Foundation informed us they were going to buy new gaming PCs and monitors,” Badiner said. “This was unexpected, but excellent news.”
As for where the equipment would be located, a solution presented itself in the form of the school’s robotics club recently vacating a classroom in the high school.
“I am so thankful for the support of our building and district administration, the Otsego School Board, the Otsego Public Schools Foundation, and the true underdogs, our technology department, for all the extra hours they spent making this happen.
After working through the logistics of starting the club, a meeting was held to provide more information. About 20 students came for this meeting, with that number dropping to the current 11 members after rules and expectations were discussed.
“I can’t say for certain, but I think there were some misconceptions about what an esports team really is,” Badiner said. “I believe there were students who thought this would just be a club where they could drop in and play a few games with friends whenever they felt like it.
“When they learned that they would be expected to attend practice days and game days; that there would be varsity and JV-level teams; and hat we would follow league guidelines regarding academic eligibility and attendance, only the truly committed students remained.”
Those students will play a total of six regular-season matches.
Following the match with Loy Norrix, the Otsego team was slated to take on Cassopolis on Feb. 19. The remaining matches will be against Comstock, Gull Lake, River Valley and Portage Central.
