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EBENSBURG, Pa. – From their beginnings four years ago to pushing out highly competitive teams in multiple games offered by the High School Esports League (HSEL) during the current spring 2022 season, the Central Cambria Inferno has grown into one of the region’s brightest esports squads.
The Inferno, under the guidance of esports coach Lisa Urbassik, boast teams in “Overwatch,” “Valorant,” “Rocket League,” “Minecraft,” “Rainbow Six Siege,” “Hearthstone” and “NBA 2K22,” along with chess.
Even with Central Cambria holding national rankings within the federation in “Overwatch” (30th out of 255 teams), “Minecraft” (13th out of 181), “Hearthstone (10th out of 139) and “NBA 2K22” (13th out of 87) this month, Urbassik understands that the teams playing their respective games are still coming into their own, especially with new titles offered for competition that the squad took on after the program joined the HSEL.
“It’s a bit like traditional sports,” Urbassik said. “Probably the team that is the most in line with one another is the ‘Overwatch’ team, because they’ve built themselves over three years.
“They’ve had a couple of people go out, a couple of people go in, but they’ve absorbed some players and graduate other players. They’ve had three years to work things out. ‘Valorant,’ ‘Rainbow Six,’ ‘Hearthstone’ and ‘Rocket League,’ they haven’t had that time to jell yet. I think I’m just starting to see that now.
“This is where I tell them, ‘Yeah, you’re doing amazingly well, but this is how you’re building. Next season is when you’re going to see the results.
“The season after that, you’re going to see higher results.’ ”
‘Program has grown’
While Central Cambria is halfway through its season, Urbassik projects that four Inferno teams – “Hearthstone,” “Minecraft,” “Valorant” and “Overwatch” – should reach the postseason.
The Inferno, which competed in The Esport Company League this past year, claimed the “Overwatch” crown from the local league during the spring 2021 season.
As the numbers within the squad have grown, a challenge emerged in linking students to games.
“We did play in the The Esport Company (TEC) League last year, and we had the ‘Overwatch’ championship team for spring 2021,” Urbassik said. “We switched over to a national league, because as much as we loved TEC, the national league offered us more games.
“Our program has grown big enough that we’ve got kids who wanted to play so many other games that we needed to give more kids more opportunities.”
On Central Cambria’s “Overwatch” team are Grace Wolf, Jack Corcoran, Jude Gabrielson, Katrina Svencer, Jamie Johnson, Alex Donaldson, Cameron Emerson amd Tyler Sheldon.
The Inferno’s “Valorant” team boasts Emerson, Michael Kuzilla, John Paul Caroff, Jason Westrick, Addison Clark, Hayden Cooper and Shay Adams.
On the “Minecraft” squad are Westrick and Jesse James.
Colin Hagens, Scott Russell, Ethan Stock, Adams, Andrew Mulligan, Robert Lazer, Anna Stock and Sheldon play “Rocket League.”
The “Rainbow Six Siege” group includes Adams, Noah Michael, Isaiah Streets, Clark, Emerson, Kuzilla and Gabrielson.
Lazer and Mulligan team up for “Hearthstone,” while Adams is the Inferno representative on chess, and Sheldon holds down “NBA 2K22.”
‘Never saw this coming’
Those opportunities to compete in esports have shown other benefits for students, including scholarships to continue playing collegiately. The industry’s trend toward mainstream reception is something that astonishes Urbassik, who noted that she’s a bit of a gamer herself.
“I never saw this coming,” she said. “I played around with gaming a little bit and found one game I liked and stuck with it, but I never saw it as something that would be an accepted – let alone school-recognized – activity. To see these kids really getting recognition for it, to see them be able to incorporate into their future, is just amazing for me.”
Like traditional athletics, esports afford students lessons that aren’t easily taught in classrooms.
“Things that they’re learning from this is communication, team play and the way that you handle things,” Urbassik said.
“Honestly, they can learn skills as individuals on their own time. It’s that team play that really is my job. It’s to get them to organize. It’s to get them coordinated.
“I handle a lot of the tech issues. For the kids who aren’t playing individually, I’m pointing them toward resources.”
The learning process isn’t strictly reserved for those who play for Central Cambria. There are lessons for the coach, who notes that she specializes in “World of Warcraft.”
“A couple of the kids have poked at it a little bit or they played because their parents play,” Urbassik said. “We’ve bonded over that. Some have been trying to teach me to play ‘Overwatch.’ There was a time where they were trying to teach me to play ‘Rocket League,’ but I think they’ve given up on that one at this point.”
She said: “I think the fact that I do have a little bit of a gaming background, that I have a computer background, it does make it easier. The kids can relate a little bit more. They kind of like that fact that I know what I’m talking about whenever we’re talking about motherboards, CPUs, graphics cards and something like that.”
Having a dedicated esports arena also helps to ensure that everyone can log the necessary time to improve at their respective games.
“In the arena, itself, probably 6-8 hours per week per game,” Urbassik said when asked about the average practice time per player. “Some kids play multiple games, so they tend to overlap on their practice time in here. Some kids play at home, as well, and that’s completely OK. They’re just more comfortable with their setup at home.
“One of the great things about having the arena is that the kids who don’t have the internet access, they’re able to come in and play. That’s an opportunity that they wouldn’t if this was just strictly at home and we didn’t have the space for them.”
‘Above that stereotype’
Life at a school of Central Cambria’s size means that students are rarely involved in just one pursuit. As Urbassik lists, the Inferno has drawn its roster from a diverse group of other activity cornerstones.
“I’ve got football players, track, wrestlers, national merit scholars, dancers,” she said.
“I’ve got kids from vo-tech. I’ve got freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors. I’ve got several young ladies who play for me. I’ve got theater kids. I’ve got band kids. I’ve got musical kids. I’ve got something from just about every genre you can think of.
“I think that this is something that (esports) is teaching – gaming does tend to have a stereotype and it’s amazing that these kids are really rising above that stereotype. There are not just kids who are just focused on gaming.”
Just like the traditional athletic ventures offered at Central Cambria, the Inferno adheres to PIAA eligibility standards in academic performance, attendance and behavior per a decision made by the district. The Inferno coach also expects players to behave professionally during practice and competitions.
In her experience, those expectations have been met without much extra hassle.
“They know that in here, there is no toxic behavior,” she said. “No cursing. They will be professional. They will be respectful. I mean, I’m amazed at how well they follow the rules.”
The standard does allow the chance to respectfully acknowledge their successes.
“Even being joyous, yes, they’re allowed to celebrate, but they can’t be smacking things or anything like that,” Urbassik said. “There can be joyous celebrations, but they learned the appropriate celebrations.”
Ultimately – just like any competition on a field, course, track, court or on the ice – sportsmanship is the standard.
“They need to know how to handle themselves,” she said. “Just like in basketball, football or soccer, you’re going to shake your opponent’s hand afterward, no matter what. You’re going to tell them that it was a good game. If you break something in this arena, you will be paying for it. I think that’s a part of it is having these kids to really have that online awareness that just because you’re behind a computer, it doesn’t mean that you don’t have to behave.”
Shawn Curtis is a reporter for The Tribune-Democrat. He can be reached at 814-532-5085. Follow him on Twitter @shawncurtis430.
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