Esports Director Alex Gilbert is “very proud” to be “merely a guide and facilitator” for his self-motivated students at Sulphur High. It is a student-run program inside and out: the school’s computer science students build the PC’s, the TV Production class broadcasts the livestreams, and the varsity players coach their JV peers.
Sulphur High’s currently undefeated Overwatch team further exemplifies this proactive team culture. Overwatch— “the game that has been the most consistent” for the program—is analogous to Sulphur Esports itself: team-based and objective-oriented.
Fittingly, in a late February sweep against Wichita West High, sophomore Matthew “matt2w” Steckling earned honors as a support player who healed 37% of the damage that was taken by the team.
Gilbert further credits the team manager’s work ethic and leadership skills, saying, “Any college or professional team who gets him after he graduates is going to have an MVP on their hands.”
According to Gilbert, his self-starting students “have even been able to contact college level coaches and scouts so that they can open doors for their eSports careers in the future.”
Within the team’s celebratory “#1 SEED CLINCHED” tweet, the tags include LA Tech, Ragin’ Cajuns, and LSU’s esports programs, among others. The students at Sulphur High might just make their school the state’s go-to Overwatch pipeline.
