Screenshot

The very new Shorian Esports Rocket League team is speeding towards their first state title, and they’re one of the top contenders. The team consists of three Lake Shore Students. Sophomores, Jacob Barker, Blake Schrade, and Brendon Godawa.

The Rocket League team has continuously excelled over their competition. Coach, Shayne Trail said, “Last fall, we were ranked first going into the postseason, and we made it all the way to the semifinals but then we lost and placed fourth in the entire state. And, as of right now, we are ranked number one in the state for the spring season.”

Just as in most things, it takes a lot to be so successful, with practices every Sunday night, Trail stated, “Each guy on the team has probably put in 1,000 hours over the course of a couple of years, and the practice they do isn’t just sitting there and playing the game, it’s just like a traditional sport in the sense that you may do certain drills to work on a certain set of skills, and the same thing happens in this game.”

Many people believe that videogames are beginning to corrupt the minds of the younger generations, but Trail would argue against that saying, “They have a structured environment which is different from playing alone at home, they learn how to sit next to each other and work out differences, they sit and learn different strategies of how to compete as a team, and they also have the opportunity at broadcast, video edit, photography, marketing and anything they want they get the opportunity to get real-world experience.”

The matches take place on Wednesdays, and Thursdays, over Zoom calls. They play out of the designated Esports lab over at the North Shore Adult Ed Building next to Kennedy Middle School. Not having to worry about traveling for matches, the team plays other schools all across the state.

Trail said, “We can visit any school that has internet connection. We’ve played teams as far north as Marquette in the UP, as far south as the Michigan-Ohio border, and as far west as Grand Rapids.”

In matches, the Shorians are undefeated. Trail added, “In matches, we are 11-0, but for each game we are 32-4. We play a best of 5 series, similar to your traditional sports.”

To close, Trail talked about the difference between varsity, and club-level games saying, “The club games are all student-led. We offer 10 different games at the club level but there are only two main ones that are supported at the varsity level that have coaches. Any other games that want to be supported in the program have to be led by a student. The club-level teams do get to go up against other schools. Our Mario Kart Team is ranked 36th out of around 150 teams, but the students do all the leading. We do check up on them but for the most part, they’re on their own.”