A teacher at the Ste. Anne Collegiate told his students to go home and play video games over Spring Break.

That teacher, Shawn Sadler, also happens to be the first-ever eSports coach in southeastern Manitoba.

The term ‘eSports’ means competitive video-gaming, a word that, according to Sadler, is becoming increasingly popular at his school.

Sadler says the whole thing started at the beginning of the school year. “Back in fall I had some students come to me and pitch the idea of having eSports at our school," explains Sadler,  "so they put together a proposal letter and we took it to our superintendent.”

From there, Sadler says the concept of school-organized video games sat on the back burner until he caught wind of other teachers in St. Norbert and Winnipeg whose students were having similar ideas. Soon after those connections were made, everything fell into place.

As of early March, 13 teams across 10 schools had banded together to formed Manitoba’s first and only high school eSports league.

“We’re trying to call it the Manitoba High School eSports Association,” indicates Sadler, “and we’re playing our first season right now.”

'League of Legends' is the game currently being played across the association. The game itself is a fantastical war zone where groups of five are pitted against each other to claim their opponent’s territory. Sadler’s team has five main players and three substitutes if someone is sick or unavailable.

10 schools across Manitoba are participating in 'League of Legends' competitions (Photo credit: Shawn Sadler).

Sadler says his role as a coach is less about orchestrating drills and more about scheduling meetings where his team can practice together. “Like shooting hoops in the back yard, they can do that whenever they want,” comments Sadler.

While all practicing can be done from their respective home computers, when it's game time, the whole team meets in the school gym.

It may seem odd to organize video game competitions within a school setting but Sadler says it actually makes a lot of sense.

“They’re very excited about doing something that’s school pride based,” he offers. “All of the benefits of a normal sports team are still there; its just a different expression.”

Sadler says eSports can teach less physically athletic students the value of discipline and teamwork, meanwhile improving their leadership and relational skills as well.

“The online culture has a reputation of not being particularly healthy," observes Sadler, "so what we are trying to do as a school-based program, is ensure we are modeling a positive culture and building good habits.”

Many students participate in Ste. Anne Collegiate's 'Super Smash Bros' intramurals (Photo credit: Shawn Sadler).

Sadler assumes that students are going to play video games no matter what. By organizing a team, he feels eSports can go far beyond mere entertainment and become a learning opportunity.

In addition to the competitive team, Sadler says his school also hosts lunchtime intramurals so any student can try their hand at video games in a no-pressure situation. Both the 'League of Legends' team and the intramurals are open to all grades and genders and Sadler hopes to see the programs continue to diversify.   

“There’s something new and neat happening," says Sadler, "I want to be a part of it and see where this thing goes.”