PMHS Rocket League Varsity Esports Team Wins State Title
According to Penn Manor High School (PMHS) esports coach Scott Hertzog, esports came to Lancaster County four years ago, and was brought to PMHS in 2019. Within the PMHS esports program, three teams exist on both varsity and junior varsity levels: League of Legends, Overwatch League, and Rocket League. All matches are streamed. About 50 PMHS students have been participating in esports for the 2021-22 academic year, which is nearly twice as many as in the team's first year in 2019. Not only do esports team members compete against students from other schools, but they are also responsible for streaming their matches and handling social media and photography duties for the team.
This past February, the Rocket League varsity esports team finished first at the state championship with a 3-0 win over Coatesville High School. The team of PMHS students Tyler Moore, Seth Lyter, and Nate Mintzer finished the winter season with a 9-0 record and the Pennsylvania Scholastic Esports League (PSEL) state title.
Rocket League is a vehicular soccer game that was first released in July 2015. The highest level of Rocket League is supersonic legend, with the next highest being three levels of grand champion. Hertzog noted that all of the Rocket League varsity esports team players fluctuate within the grand championship levels.
"There is a lot of teamwork that goes into it, anticipating where the ball is going to bounce and communicating with teammates," explained Hertzog. "It's really no different than any other team sport."
A senior at PMHS, Seth has been playing Rocket League since the end of 2016. "It's insane the amount of time you need to spend perfecting tiny things and the mechanics," he commented.
Nate, a PMHS junior, mentioned that his goal is to reach the supersonic legend level in the video game before graduating in hopes of receiving scholarship money for college. He started playing in the early months of 2017 and has about 3,000 hours of playing under his belt. "The skill level of Rocket League is pretty much unmatched with any other video game," he said. "You have to spend thousands of hours to get good at the game."
Tyler, a senior at PMHS, has been playing Rocket League since the winter of 2015. "Being able to bring a state championship title really early on in our program is amazing," stated Tyler. "I don't know about other teams, but for us, we play Rocket League ... to playing sports, working part-time jobs, and attending school. We've been able to do all of this combined and succeed in all of it."
To stay up to date on PMHS' esports team, search for "Penn Manor Esports Team" on Facebook.
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