Lincoln-Way East Esports Looks To Continue Success, Growth Of Program

FRANKFORT, IL — When most people think of video games, they most likely don't think of the thriving, competitive field of esports. In 2022, the Illinois High School Association hosted the first-ever esports state finals, and this past spring, IHSA hosted it for the second time.

Both years, Lincoln-Way East has sent representatives to the state finals, thanks to determination from students and parents, who have built the program from the ground-up.

The Lincoln-Way East team was coached this year by Bruce Hartman, Laura Hartman and Patrick Spreadbury.

"[We] were underdogs from day one," Laura said. The team was formed in 2022, and made state in their first-ever competition as a team, playing Rocket League.

"This program was built by the team, for the team. Every player took a job to keep us competing," Laura told Patch.

Laura told Patch that her son, Jacob, who went to state this year for Rocket League, was first recruited to play on a private high school esports team in California. This was during the peak of the pandemic, and she told Patch she was shocked to learn about the world of esports.

When they learned about the enormity of esports, which includes scholarships to college and corporate sponsorships, they reached out to Lincoln-Way East to see if the school had a team.

Laura worked with others at the school to get the program off the ground, calling it "a new frontier," and was told that she would need to coach if the team wanted to compete in 2022. She accepted, and at that time, all esports competitions were still played online, but moved to in-person after pandemic guidelines were removed.

"Running the program was going to look very different than [the] initial plan," Laura said, adding that she was fearful of how it would go.

"Then, I met the amazing students that were thrilled to compete in high school esports," she said. "They have been the fuel every step of the way!"

Laura's husband, Bruce, joined her in coaching for the 2023 season, in which she said the Griffins did "exceptionally well."

"By season two, it became clear players would also need to take on tasks to keep this program moving forward," she said. "They accepted this challenge with gusto!"

Laura credited the students on the team for the existence of the program.

"All future Lincoln-Way East esports teams will exist because these kids worked for two full seasons to keep the program intact long enough to exist," she said. "They made it."

In the 2023-24 season, the team will be coached by Patrick Spreadbury.

"Long-term student opportunity was always the goal [of the team]," Laura said.

The team has had one student who plays Smash Bros. earn an esports scholarship, and two Rocket League players are also being actively recruited.

Next year, the program plans to continue its Rocket League and Smash Bros. teams, and also look to add more, like FIFA.