Recruiting Specialist Chris Baeza from Stay Plugged In recently spoke with Robert Laplante from Desert Ridge High School in Mesa, Arizona, and learned all about their esports program and how it engages their students.
Coach Laplante shared that he has been with the esports program at Desert Ridge since it was founded three years ago. Between esports classes and clubs, approximately 65 students are members of the program which participates in the PlayVs league. Laplante teaches an esports class called "Gaming concepts" and does training classes with Cloud 9.
Desert Ridge has varsity and JV teams for Rocket League and Super Smash Brothers as well as a varsity League of Legends team. The team’s season began in February against top competitors including Gilbert High School, Brophy Prep, Higely High School, Willow Canyon, and Camelback High School. League of Legends player, Mary, and senior Smash player, Dylan are considered to be key players and will help lead the team in games.
Laplante considers League of Legends to be the team's best game, noting that it is made up of sophomores and he sees them growing really well together. He also added that he believes all of his students would love to play competitive esports in college. Together, the team has raised $6,000 for the program and has partnered with Hyperx to further support the program.
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