Club vs. Team

If you are building a program for the first time, you may want to decide if your esports program will be a club or a team. A club has a loose structure and is more inclusive by allowing students in without trying out. A club also has more in-house tournaments. A team, on the other hand, would require tryouts, practices, and competitions against teams outside of the campus. You can also have both a club and a team and allow club members to try for a position on the competitive teams.

Build The Foundation

When planning your esports program, it is best to create your foundation first. This includes your mission, vision, and core values. These will set the guidelines for building your program.

Develop The Structure

Once the foundation is set, develop the structure of the club/team. Decide which roles will be included, which games will be played competitively, which competitions to join, and how you will fund the program. Keep in mind that this will be changing in the future due to changes in games, technology, funding, and trends.

Recruit

It's time to bring the students in! Create posters for the hallways and place ads on your school's daily announcements. Don't be afraid to reach out to your campus or district social media specialist to promote the esports program through social media channels.

Revisit

Once you feel comfortable with the way the group is running, work with students to revisit different roles that can be added, new competitions or leagues to join, new esports titles to play, or find better ways to fund your program. Esports is always growing and evolving, so plan to change with it!

Top Esports Titles

 

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Fighting game with iconic characters from Nintendo and other gaming franchises.

Players: 

Mostly individual, however some rule sets allow for teams.

Platform: 

Nintendo Switch

Age Rating: 

10 and older

Cost: 

• $59.99 for base game
  • $24.99 for Fighter Pass (5 Characters)
  • $29.99 for Fighter Pass vol. 2 (6 Characters)
  • $4.99 for Piranha Plant Character

 

 

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

A kart-racing game with characters from the Mario Universe.

Players: 

2 players per team (2v2) or 4 players per team (4v4)

Platform: 

Nintendo Switch

Age Rating: 

Everyone

Cost: 

• $59.99 for base game
• $24.99 for Booster Course Pass (48 additional courses)

 

 

Rocket League

It’s soccer, with cars!

Players: 

3 per team

Platform: 

• PC 

• Nintendo Switch

• Xbox

• Playstation

 

Age Rating: 

E for Everyone!

Cost: 

Free

 

 

Valorant

A team-based "Hero Shooter" game where each player has a unique character and role to play in the game.

Players: 

5 players per team

Platform: 

PC

Age Rating: 

Teen (13 and older)

Cost: 

Free

 

Other Esports Titles

These are additional titles that are played across different scholastic esports leagues for the 2023-2024 season.  Some leagues do not have competitions for certain titles.  Make sure to see which games a league plays before joining.

• Apex Legends

• Brawlhalla

• Counter-Strike 2

• FIFA

• Fortnite

• iRacing

• Halo: Infinite

• Hearthstone

• League of Legends

• NBA 2K23

• Madden NFL 23

• Minecraft

• Online Chess

• Overwatch 2

• Rainbow 6: Siege

• Splatoon 3

• Street Fighter 6