JAY — The esports program at Spruce Mountain High School has a small but dedicated group of players participating this year with hopes of being more successful at regionals next fall.

Esports members Alex Profenno at left and Ricky Bowen practice Wednesday afternoon, April 5, in the Spruce Mountain High School library in Jay. Most Wednesday afternoons the team competes against other Maine school esports programs. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser

Ash Nichols joined the esports program last fall. She said there are three different games played: Super Smash Brothers, League of Legends and Rocket League. Nichols plays the first.

“It’s kind of hard to explain [what you do],” Nichols said. “You log on, run the controller while playing against another person,” she said. “You and the person you are competing against battle it out on the video game.”

Nichols said esports is a bonding experience but the different levels can be challenging. One team member is at level eight, she stated.

“You get to bond with people on the team, get to learn stuff about video games,” she noted. “When going against a person who is better at the game than you, like having a map on the game you aren’t used to, that can be the most challenging.”

Alex Profenno looks up while playing a video game with Ricky Bowen during an esports session Wednesday afternoon, April 5, at the Spruce Mountain High School library in Jay. The team meets after school Monday through Thursday. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser

Team member Alex Profenno said he enjoys hanging out with his friends during esports, it increases his bond with them.

“Super Smash Brothers uses characters from other video games,” member Ricky Bowen noted. “It’s a game I really like, it’s good to be around other people who like it.”

Profenno said starting off at the absolute beginning was a lot to handle. As he progressed, “it started to get a lot easier,” he noted.

Things learned in esports can apply to other classes or life.

Shaking off old habits is a benefit Bowen has learned through esports. “When things I was doing didn’t work, I had to learn to stop doing them and find another strategy,” he noted. “It took a while.”

“It can get very frustrating, so you learn how to control your anger,” Nichols said. “You meet new people, have to compete against others in your state and the world.”

“All of us played before, we have gotten better at it,” Profenno noted. “It’s a lot of fun, teaches me a lot of things.” The competitions teach life-long skills that can be used professionally, he added.

“I am better at the game than when I started,” Bowen said. Some people consider it a hobby, others can make a career out of it, he noted. Bowen has considered it as a career possibility, sees the potential for it to be a side job as he gets older.

Esports was approved as a sports program at the high school by Regional School Unit 73 board of directors at their June 25, 2020, meeting. Maine Principals’ Association had earlier announced it would begin offering esports as a co-curricular activity that fall.

Esports, or online gaming, grew exponentially at the high school and college levels in a short amount of time. In 2018, the National Federation of State High School Associations began holding championships, and several states, including Massachusetts and Rhode Island, joined in.

One of the reasons esports has become increasingly popular with schools is it appeals to students who don’t normally participate in extracurricular activities. At the June 2020 meeting, Keller cited a study that showed 80% of students that have joined esports never participated in another activity in their school career.

Two televisions are usually set up in the high school library on Wednesday afternoons when the team competes against students from other schools.

Spruce Mountain made it to the regional playoffs last year but didn’t get very far. The goal is to do better at the next regionals and members are practicing for that.

“Having fun is the No. 1 priority,” Profenno said. “Some have separate teams for their schools, have better equipment. It’s a nice feeling to get up there above some of the better teams. ”