Cumberland County Jets E-Sports Head Coach Jake Crowder introduced a new sport to the high school this summer.
Stone Memorial became the first team in the Upper Cumberland to introduce E-Sports to the curriculum. After interest shown from Cumberland County High School, Crowder was asked if he could a start an E-Sports team for the first time in school history. Crowder, who teaches computer science and cyber-security at the high school, accepted a job he had plenty of background for.
“We’re all new to this, so we’re all trying to grow and trying to learn,” Crowder said. “We’re practicing as much as we can after games and whenever our teachers can allow them to after school, before school, and so we’re trying to grow and trying to be competitive.”
The Jets applied and were accepted into PlayVS, a high school league that hosts games across the entire United States. The Jets were placed in the central division when the team started.
“We connect on the platform. We have to go into a queue,” Crowder said. “Sometimes we know the team that we’re gonna play, they schedule it the week before, sometimes we don’t know so we’ll end up playing a random team and we connect with them in a lobby.”
The designated home team is in charge of creating the lobby and sending the invites. The Jets play matches in Overwatch on Mondays, Fortnite on Tuesdays, Valorant and Super Smash Brothers on Wednesdays, and Marvel Rivals on Thursdays. Fridays are reserved for practices, times when Jets gamers will work on fundamentals, or scrimmages where Cumberland County sends invites to other teams across the Upper Cumberland in friendly showdowns.
There are also different win conditions depending on results. Some games are best-of-three, others are best-of-five, while others like Super Smash Brothers are decided if one teams wins by two points.
“It offers a sport for people who are into technology and video games,” Crowder said. “It gets kids scholarships that they can get for playing these sports. We have a lot of fun while we’re doing it as well.”
Tennessee Tech offers programs and scholarships for playing Valorant. Other colleges offer scholarships and classes regarding Super Smash Brothers and Overwatch, among other games.
Cumberland County’s regular season ends later in October. The Jets will begin their single elimination tournament beginning in November.