The Dons state runner up Rocket League team, featuring from left to right Elijah Gonzales, Joshua Roybal, Josiah Rubio, Coach Kenneth Bachicha, Tomas Torres and Enrique Gonzales.
For the second consecutive season, the West Las Vegas Esports team has finished as state runner ups in 3A. It was only three years ago that WLV started their Esports program, and now just three years into their existence they have announced themselves as perennial contenders for the state championship. They are a program that is still in their infancy, but they have already become one of the best programs in their class.
“I think our success is all down to our kids,” head coach Kenneth Bachicha said. “We have so many talented kids in our community in different things, and I think with them we have this untapped potential that’s just ready to show itself.”
While Esports are essentially video games, something that many of us play just as a way to escape reality, or we do as something to pass the time. What coach Bachicha has been impressed with from his team though is their dedication to their craft. The time and energy that it takes to try and perfect their craft, as well as their commitment to improve throughout the course of the season is what stands out to him about his team.
“They’ve taken the time to really hone in on their craft and get better,” Bachicha said. “It’s been their communication that has improved so much, the way that they’re able to talk to each other, especially because some of these kids are more reserved and don’t talk as much.”
The WLV Esports team practices for the upcoming state championship tournament earlier this month.
That communication is something that Bachicha thinks will help the program continue to be successful going forward. It’s still a very young team, but they are beginning to develop that team camaraderie which is crucial for any successful team. They’re already seeing that pay dividends, as a team overall the Dons finished second in the state, and their Rocket League team, which is a multiplayer game also finished as runners up, that would not be possible without high level communication in the game. Another sign of how good the Dons program is progressing is how good their team was in Madden this season. There were 50 schools competing in Madden across the state this season, and West Las Vegas had five of the top 25 individual players in the state. Only two of them were able to compete in the state tournament because each team is only allowed up to two competitors, but that level of competition within the program shows how good they are and can be going forward.
One of the Dons’ Madden players is junior Jesus Lovato. Lovato is the nephew of the late firefighter Frank Lovato who passed away in March. Jesus Lovato and the entire WLV Esports program dedicated the season to Frank Lovato, after the impact he had not only in their lives, but many other lives as well.
This season the team slogan was ‘going for the blue in 2022.’ Ultimately as coach Bachicha said they settled for the red instead. In 2023 the Dons will still be going for the blue. In order for the Dons to take the next step and potentially become a blue trophy winning team Bachicha believes that growth will play a huge role in that. In sheer numbers the team has grown quite a bit year over year, from 16 in year one to 25 kids this year, and Bachicha expects over 30 next season. The growth of the program is what Bachicha believes will allow the Dons to potentially bring home the blue.
