Trevor Smith has quietly led the Ben Davis Esports team for nine year. Last month, his group secured a new home in the school hallways, located just north of the Spirit Shop in B hall downstairs. Smith talks about his journey.

How long have you been coaching the Ben Davis Esports team?

“This will be the ninth year, so basically since I started working here. It started out as just a little club in the room after school once or twice a week where we would meet and just play some games, board games and card games. Then it evolved into also including video games. Then I heard about the high school esports league that was forming up, and we joined in.” 

How did you personally become interested in Esports?

“For as long as I can remember I’ve played video games. I don’t know if I can pinpoint an exact time, but ever since I was little I would play video games and be a part of the competition.”

What do you think Esports club members get out of the club? 

“A lot of fun. A lot of enjoyment. I have a lot of members who wouldn’t really belong in any other type of group or activity afters school, so they’re getting involved through this. They get exposed to teamwork, good and bad. Wins and losses, and it’s all really good.”

What would you say to anyone interested in joining but feeling hesitant? 

“Please join! We need a lot of players to make this work.” 

What can you tell me about the new room in B Hall? 

“Over spring break, the school remodeled it a bit. We’ve been playing in there for a while. Mrs. Earnest planned a lot of it. Right now we’re going to have eight gaming computers that me and another coach built. We were able to order all the parts and we spent a few Saturdays with boxes everywhere and computer parts everywhere. But we got them all built, and the room is ready. Rocket League is one of the main titles we play and it’s three-on-three. I was thinking about making one of the PCs a coaches’ machine and having a back-up machine. With six machines, we could run in-house games. There’s also going to be a TV with Nintendo Switches connected to play Super Smash Bros, another big title for us.” 

How can new members join the club? 

“I organize information about the club through Discord. I usually tell students who are interested the club to email me and mention a Discord link. It would be helpful to have an open line of communication with coaches. Email me or see me and ask for that link for a lot of good information.” 

More Titles

“We’re looking for players for Rocket League and Overwatch. Also a bunch of titles for weekend tournaments like Rainbow Six Siege, Fortnite, and Call of Duty. We need good players to come represent Ben Davis. So if you’re thinking about it, join the Discord and you’ll see all the game we play.”