Salem School District

Just minutes before the 5:00 p.m. start time, twelve students in Salem High School’s Gaming Club are finalizing strategies prior to their online contest with a New Jersey school team in the High School Esports League. The game involves several rounds in which the team members select operators – playable characters with either offensive or defensive skills – that will give them the advantage.

“There’s a lot of strategy and teamwork involved,” explained Dr. Kevin Seeley, a CTE Biomedical Science teacher at Salem High School and the club’s advisor and mentor. “This is just like any sport where cooperation and teamwork are prized."

Using games they would typically play at home, they now come together at school to work as a team in competition against a team from another school.
Esports are quickly gaining popularity for players and spectators alike. There are now four competitive Esports teams at the high school level in New Hampshire.  Beyond High School, Southern New Hampshire University is now offering esports scholarships for students to compete in their newly-built esports arena and offers degrees in fields related to game design and programming. In fact, while teaching at John Stark Regional High School, Seeley said numerous Esports team members received college scholarships for esports.

Salem’s esports program is part of a national organization (High School Esports League) that sets the criteria for the competition between schools and supports tournaments throughout the year. Salem’s esports team is off to a 2-0 start for the fall season. The HSEL national championships will see the top four teams from fall and spring tournaments compete for $150,000 in scholarships.

The Gaming Club is in its second year at Salem High School and is primarily supported by Seeley’s personal equipment. He started playing games with his son years ago and the passion has continued to grow from there. “I’ve collected about $50,000 worth of consoles and monitors over my years of gaming.” Seeley said.

While participation in the Esports program requires some specific skills in a particular game, the more casual Gaming Club also includes students who just want to drop in and play a variety of other games on Wednesdays after school. “We have about 35 students in total,” Seeley said. “It’s just a safe place for anyone interested in video games, board games, magic cards, or other activities to come have fun.”