BU E-Sports Team Makes Competitive Debut
Photo provided by Rampage student photographer Rachel Hendrick.
E-sports, or electronic sports, is a fast-paced competitive environment where teams compete against each other in multi-player video games. This is the first year that Bluefield University has had an E-sports team, and they couldn’t be more excited.
“This is our first year competing in e-sports at Bluefield,” said team coach Madison Whisman. “So, my expectations were not low but tempered. It was really about getting into the competition and creating a team environment.”
While Whisman didn’t expect immediate success, he was surprised and excited when he noticed his team’s accomplishments.
“I knew I had some good players on my team, so I knew there was a chance we could be successful,” Whisman said, “but I wasn’t expecting us to immediately win every match.”
Whisman is no stranger to e-sports, as he started coaching at Graham High School in 2021 and coached there for two and a half years. Whisman also said that when he was asked to be the coach at Graham, he only had a day to decide.
“I decided to do it and fell in love with it,” he said. “for me, it was giving students an opportunity to be a part of a team, to compete, and bond together that was special.”
In his time there, he led Graham to its first-ever Virginia High School League (VHSL) state playoff appearance in Super Smash Brothers. Graham’s program started with only six students in his first season; when he left, it had nearly 20 students.
Turning to Whisman’s coaching at BU, the BU e-sports team is currently competing in four different games: Teamfight Tactics, Fortnite, Rocket League, and Apex Legends.
“Rocket League started our season off with a huge victory in its first match, marking the first competitive victory in BU e-sports history,” Whisman said. “Our Teamfight Tactics team has been consistent near the middle to top-middle of the pack through three weeks and is getting better each week. Our Apex Legends and Fortnite teams have improved leaps and bounds each week thus far, and both are sitting in playoff spots right now with (the regular season ending November 13.)”
The roster for the BU e-sports team is small but mighty, with only seven students on the team. These students include sophomores Bruce Chaney and Jacob Phillips, as well as freshmen Ethan Greear, Sebastian Kiser, Skyler Koen, Raymond Parrish, and Gage Thompson.
Greear shared that he learned about BU’s new e-sports team at a college fair last year. This is his first year competing in e-sports, but he has been playing video games for most of his life. He spoke about the importance of communication in competitions for the BU team and the value of every player contributing.
“If one of us isn’t pulling our weight or doing our part on the team, things can start to fall apart,” Greear said.
Whisman also shared the challenges his team faces. Like other student-athletes, he said “one of the biggest challenges is balancing competition with academics,” especially since e-sports matches start late and finish even later. Another challenge, he added, is infrastructure and support.
“E-sports as a whole is still fairly new to high school and collegiate competition,” Whisman said. “Making sure that our students have the right equipment, reliable internet, and a consistent practice facility is challenging as we build this program.”
But, despite the challenges, Whisman is excited about the success of this season and the prospects of even more success in the future.
“So far, this season has far exceeded my expectations,” he said, “and I am extremely proud of what the team has done and how they have grown.”