A Fremont High School student is heading to Seward next week for the state Esports semifinals.
The student, whose online gaming and competitive name is Darkbox, is competing in the Nebraska Schools Esports Association’s Semi-Final Tournament against Cerulean of Omaha Westside Nov. 19 on the campus of Concordia University.
Seth Nickolaison, a Fremont High School math teacher and coach for the school’s Esports league, told how far the league has come and what it does now.
“We started out just as a gaming club about three years ago. From there an Esports company called PlayVS reached out to us. This is the first year FHS has had an Esports team and we are already doing great,” Nickolaison said.
PlayVS is a Los Angeles based company that networks local schools for Esports and is partnered with the National Federation of State High School Associations or NFHS, the group that greenlights high school sports and activities.
FHS only has three different video games that it practices and competes under.
Those games are Hearthstone, an online strategic card game; Rocket League, a soccer-esque video game played with vehicles, and Overwatch, a team-based competitive first person shooter game.
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Fremont’s student is playing in the state semifinals against Omaha Westside in the game Hearthstone.
“It’s super cool because unlike the other games, Hearthstone is a game I enjoy and is easy for me to coach through. I can coach through Rocket League or Overwatch, but Hearthstone is a game I am decent at and so my coaching isn’t as mechanical as the other games would be,” Nickolaison said.
Nickolaison also discussed what budget they are working with and how hopefully it might change in the future.
“We have an incredibly low budget,” Nickolaison said. “Larger schools can afford to give their students much more, but with us just starting out, it isn’t a lot. I’d say about $150 has been spent so far on this club and this league. Of course, we would want more. Better computers because lag is a pain or uniforms with the students’ gaming names on them, but that might change soon seeing how well we are doing from the start.”
He appreciates the experience.
“This whole experience is just really cool to be a part of,” Nickolaison said.
The Nebraska Schools Esports Association’s Semifinal Tournament match of Fremont against Omaha Westside takes place at 2:30 p.m. Nov. 19.
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