Vimy Ridge Academy’s esports program seeks to develop gaming skills

Content of the article

When 12-year-old Jake Nault heard about a new competitive video game program at Vimy Ridge Academy, he knew he had to enroll.

Content of the article

« I really liked acting and I heard you could play competitively at school, so I thought, ‘Let’s try. « »

Content of the article

Nault is one of 18 children in the program’s inaugural year, ages 12 to 15.

They spend 150 minutes of their daily school routine working on play skills together, something Nault says other students are still learning.

« They think it’s a little weird…but they don’t really see what it looks like, » he said.

« They just think we sit on our butts all the time and play games, but that’s really not the case. »

Playing games like Rocket League, Valorant, and Overwatch is a big part of the daily routine, but so is keeping fit in the gym and working on communication, strategy, and mental focus.

Content of the article

« I think it’s like all the other academies we do here,” said Joshua Hubert, the teacher who oversees the program. « It’s a targeted approach, rather than just, ‘hey, let’s go and have fun.' »

Esports has exploded as a commercial and entertainment industry over the past few decades, with professional events often surpassing the largest traditional sporting events in viewership, attendance and prize money.

While esports are sometimes dismissed for their lack of physicality and athleticism, Hubert says it’s not that simple.

« It’s a soft physical skill that they develop that others don’t, and they put time and effort into developing it, » Hubert said.

« We’re not concerned about our player pressing down on a 300-pound bench. We are concerned about the speed of their reaction times, the precision of their movements.

Content of the article

For students, esports can represent a pathway to post-secondary education similar to football or basketball, with many schools offering scholarships to represent them at the competitive level.

« We treat them like athletes, » said Vimy Ridge esports director Travis Bouchard. « There are so many avenues we can build with these student-athletes that it was the right time for us to build an academy here. »

Registration for next year’s program opens in February.

And, as esports clubs have grown in popularity, Bouchard said he was unaware of any other public school in the country offering a comparable program.

« There was a slot here that wasn’t filled. »

mblack@postmedia.com

Twitter @ByMatthewBlack