The Defiance Yellow Jackets: Year Two of Esports
There are currently 39 people on the Esports roster at Defiance College and Head Coach Corey Parks is looking for more.
The focus of Coach Parks has this year is to recruit as many people as he can. “If you like video games, come on down to the esports program,” Parks said.
Esports is any electronic game that has a group of people to play. Much like any sporting event, there are set dates for when the team plays. “You compete throughout the course of one or two months; then you have playoffs and if you make the top eight…[those] teams will go to one specific spot to compete and that’s your league,” Parks said.
“The thing about esports is that games can pop up left and right; it really just comes down to the communities,” Parks said.
The games that the esports team play throughout the year include: Call of Duty Modern Warfare, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate and Melee, Counter-Strike, Fortnite, and Rocket League.
Coach Parks plans to incorporate the streaming platform called Twitch this year. “So being able to increase our stream for people that know what’s happening is probably one of the biggest goals right now along with the great overall experience in the program,” Parks said.
Along with Twitch, Parks wants to recruit a broadcaster to talk about what’s going on throughout competitions. “Most programs have a Twitch and they also have a broadcaster, but I really want to push to the next level and get people out here that know their stuff so we can really grow our stream,” Parks said.
Parks explains how he came to the realization that the people watching need a broadcaster to know what’s going on during competitions, “I was so caught up in the world of esports that I thought everyone else knew what I knew.”
Along with his big goal to set up a stream, Coach Parks just wants everyone in the program to have fun.
Parks is very experienced in the world of esports, and even just gaming in general.
Parks started playing video games at age 10 years old, entered his first competitive scene at 15 for Counterstrike, and went professional at age 18.
For more information contact Coach Parks at cparks@defiance.edu. Or stop by the esports arena which is located in the downstairs area of the Pilgrim Library.
Written by: Seth Pearson
