By Zachary Fingerle
As the world of esports and gaming continues to grow, there will be more and more students and children wanting to work in that industry. Why would the world not want to provide an educated path for this industry as it reaches the youth of the world? According to research by NEWZOO, the gaming industry is set to pass 3 billion players in 2023. Much like the content creator “boom” of the 2010s people are seeing these creators and gamers be successful in a career that they are passionate about, and they will chase that path as well.
Fostering the next generation is always important as they will eventually be in charge of the world. Esports has a lot of potential to allow the next generation to grow and evolve as people. While it should steer clear of the rigorous amount of hours that actual pro players are active, it can teach an extensive amount of life skills to an audience of students that would not normally experience them that young.
For a K-12 school to offer esports as a club they allow the student to get engaged with the industry at a younger age, developing new youth for the future of gaming whether they become developers, managers, or players. They can learn the truth about the industry while having fun in school and not committing to a life decision yet.
The social aspects of a club or team can have an exponential effect on young children. They can learn communication skills through playing and talking with teammates, teachers, and coaches to improve. With communication, children can learn to take constructive criticism and better themselves. This is a stupendous life skill to have taking criticism and learning to evolve on it.
Reaching the students that are stereotypically labeled as gamers can open a new world for them. As the school offers a safe space for the student to interact with others that have the same interests and grow an attachment to the school and further involvement from the student whether in their classes or other after-school activities.
As colleges are beginning to put a focus on esports clubs and teams, it is a wonderful opportunity for young adults to branch out of their comfort zone and experiment with something new. Colleges will inevitably look to recruit high school students with scholarships and opportunities. This offering is rare at this point but will open up and can change someone’s life as they can get an education while pursuing a career in esports.
