Esports are the next big thing in afterschool activities

ATLANTA - Some parents are notorious for their determination to see their kid become valedictorian. Others aim not only to breed but also to build an all-American athlete. Those video games you once thought would distract your kids from that kind of success could be the very tool that propels them.

"It’s like any sport," Victor Wickham said. "Like soccer, it’s a mental prowess, seeing what opponents do."

Georgia loves football, but it has some competition.

The "next big thing" for earning high school accolades levels the playing field.

"This is one of the few sports where girls and guys have the same opportunity because it’s not physical. It’s mental. A girl could beat a guy. It’s equal," Ellie Hudgins said.

The 2023 esports team at Greater Atlanta Christian School. (FOX 5)

Wickham and Hudgins are part of Greater Atlanta Christian School’s esports team.

GAC is one of Georgia’s latest schools to allow students to train on beloved games such as Super Smash Brothers or Mario Cart. The school uses PlayVS. It's a scholastic esports program. 

Unlike Wickham’s game name "@somewhatboring," he lights up when he talks about what he’s learned.

"There are 70 characters in Mario Brothers. You have to lose to every single one to know how to win against them," he said.

The 2023 esports team at Greater Atlanta Christian School. (FOX 5)

Their "coach" has experience guiding students with physical sports, too. He says players learn the same teamwork and leadership and skills behind a screen as kids would on a field or on a debate team.

"In sports, we’d talk about discipline," Russell Lawless said. "With esports there’s discipline as well."

"My first year ended with 2 out of 20 wins. It was horrible. The next year, you improve, keep getting better. The main point is never let losses get you down," Wickham said.

In some cases, students can earn varsity letters and scholarships too.

The 2023 esports team at Greater Atlanta Christian School. (FOX 5)

But the GAC students say it’s not about that.

"We have a lot of diverse people," Tyler Fernandez said. "It’s a great group of people."

A number of Georgia schools now offer esports as an extracurricular activity. In June, a Carrollton High School student won the National Madden Championship and earned his share of $1.7 million.