Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Entering a unique computer lab at Clovis High School recently, I tiptoed in and sidled up to Coach Andrew Tipton. It wasn't exactly like entering the bridge of Star Trek's USS Enterprise, but sort of felt like it.
Perched in slick “gaming” chairs before large computer towers and oversized monitors, communicating through elaborate headsets and microphones were five young men. As they leaned forward, there was an intensity in not only their posture, but also in their urgent, controlled communications with each other as they navigated the danger-laden pathways of “Smite.”
It was the state finals of one of the esports, now part of the New Mexico Activities Association high school sports divisions. Esports (e=electronics) competitive tournaments have been around for decades, their popularity growing exponentially, with millions of participants internationally.
In high school, esports students develop finely tuned cognitive and motor skills, in addition to communication and collaboration expertise.
The Clovis Municipal Schools adopted esports last year, but the pandemic stalled anyprogress. This year we have almost 30 esports participants, with a maximum of five per team. The NMAA-approved games are Smite, Madden, and Rocket League (among others), and the game I happened upon was our varsity Smite team competing for the state championship.
In addition to the players, also present were Lonnie Baca, athletic director; CMS technology staff; co-coaches Andrew Tipton and Eric Wimbish (also our executive director of technology), the NMAA official who'd traveled to Clovis to oversee the game, and student alternates, ready to jump in if needed.
Watching this exciting match, I picked up some new vocabulary, some of which were positions being played: the jungler, solo-laner, mid-laner, the carry.
Observing the finely tuned actions of these students, listening to their tight communications via their headsets (none of which I understood), and just seeing them excel at absorbed teamwork was phenomenal.
The most exciting news: they won the state championship! The varsity team students were Paul Acosta, Manuel Chavez, Kody Foreman, Raul Diaz, and Josiah Mora.
By the way, this was not the only triumph for Clovis; the Madden team played in the finals also and finished second.
Television sports announcer J.P. Murrieta, also a NMAA official, was on hand capturing action shots and handing out medals.
Huge congratulations to all our esport-sters for their wins, and heartfelt thanks to the staff and volunteers working with these students.
A victory for all.
Cindy Kleyn-Kennedy is the instructional technology coordinator for the Clovis Municipal Schools and can be reached at:
