Monitor Photo/Carla Gray
Eustace Esports league is a growing program at Eustace High School which is being facilitated by Engineering Teacher Ronnie Babcock (right). Principles of Information Technology and Esports Coach Jenny McConathy (from left), team players Isai Solis, Manuel Padilla and Babcock participate in the after-school program four days a week, playing in the High School Esports League.

Monitor Photo/Carla Gray
Team members Helena Twardowski and Matthew Villeda problem solve a connection issue with a computer so they can connect to another team in the same time zone.

Monitor Photo/Carla Gray
The Esports room has 18 computers, 10 of the computers were purchased with grant money from Triumph Aviation. The other eight computers were old computers that students on the Esports team rebuilt for playing in the High School Esports League.

EUSTACE‑Eustace Independent School District has stepped into a new generation. One that offers opportunities for anyone who wishes to participate, especially in this day of ever evolving technology. This new generation offers opportunities that are endless, a rendition of the industrial age when a young person could be creative and inventive. This new generation is called Esports, and it is being facilitated by Engineering Teacher Ronnie Babcock at Eustace High School.
Esports is an after-school program that meets in a classroom with 18 computers. Babcock said, “ten of the high-tech computers were purchased with grant money from Triumph Aviation. The other eight computers were rebuilt by the students on the Esports team.” The room itself looks like a state-of-the-art computer room housed in any major university or corporation. Not only does the room house the computers but Eustace Independent School District has put in fiber optics so the team can have the best connection possible.
According to Babcock there are 43 active students on the Esports team. They meet four nights a week beginning at 4:00 p.m. with the first team, then at 5:15 p.m. for team two and finally at 6:20 p.m. for a third team. Students can stay as long as they wish, as long as they are participating. Babcock is always in the room along with two other teachers in the district, eyes are constantly on students and their performance. 
Students are in teams of two to five. They are collaborating with one another with the use of headphones. Team members are playing a video game such as MarioKart, Overwatch 2 and Minecraft. Each team is connected to a team at another school in the same time zone. So, students in Eustace could be playing against students in Chicago, Ill., Oklahoma City, Okla., San Antonio and many other cities within the same time zone. The games that are played are not human destruction type games like Call of Duty where there is gore or blood. Babcock is very clear that the games must be free from human violence and bad language. The students play the games until a winner or high point is achieved. The team can then move on to another team or be finished for the day. 
Esports has grown from an idea to an Olympic sport. It will be every two years between the summer and winter sports. It is giving  students who are not interested in physical sports, an opportunity to be an Olympian in a sport that they understand. Esports is not a University Interscholastic League (UIL) program yet, but a study has been proposed according to the June 13, 2023, UIL Legislative Council meeting agenda. So, for now they play in the High School Esports league. There are invitationals that the Eustace team has attended. The most recent invitational was held at the Esports Arena in Arlington. Eustace had two teams place third and fourth in the league. Babcock said, “When we get into playoffs we play for state and/or national. At this point in time, we have had seven seasons (a season is a school semester) and we have been to play-offs seven times.” 
To be on the team Babcock said, “At the beginning of each school year we will have an open announcement for students that are interested. Students then meet with me, we talk about the program and games. If they are only interested in human destruction games then they will not be on the team. Once they have talked with me, we sign them up to a team. Most of my kids that get in here never leave. They do their best to keep their grades where they should be.”
Babcock has high standards for his teams, he explained, “I have league representatives watching the games, I have assistant coaches watching the games and I am watching. If there is a problem like unsportsmanlike conduct, cussing, anything like that, we do have the same requirements as any other sport. If their grades are not above a 72 they are out, if they are in trouble they are out. They can work their way back in, but they are out of competition play until their grades have improved or behavior. I do not accept any behavior issues at all. The kids know that, so they adhere to the rules.”
The Esports program can take students to higher learning, Babcock stated, “James Jones from Trinity Valley Community College (TVCC) has been here recruiting. We have kids playing at Jacksonville Junior College. The Jacksonville coach is one of my players from our first season, he is now the Esports director. We also have kids playing at Navarro College. Our college scholarships in total for the last three years have been close to $260,000.”
Collaboration, support by peers and coaches as well as students that were engaged were observed. When they had a technical issue, Babcock asked questions on how the problem could be solved, not giving a direct answer. He allowed students to experiment, and troubleshoot. High school students were using vocabulary like firewall, switches, Arduino switch, jumper, cable tester, fiber optics, connector, cat 6 and so much more. Words and phrases that I had to look up to find the meaning. Babcock speaks to his students on a level that they understand, and if they do not understand he is patient and explains it. He has high expectations for all the players and teams. Babcock says, “We immediately took over our maintenance. We do all the maintenance on the PC’s, from programming to construction. The students do it all.”
If anyone ever wonders if technology is useful in a classroom, then they need to visit the Esports team at Eustace High School and see how important technology is now and for the next generation.