West Carroll Jr./Sr. High School Launches Competitive eSports Program

ATWOOD — West Carroll Jr./Sr. High School is leveling up. This fall, students will have the opportunity to join the school’s newest competitive sports venture — an eSports program.

West Carroll’s eSports program is the first of its kind to launch in Carroll County and one of only a handful in West Tennessee.

The school district announced the new program on June 8, but it has reportedly been in the works for several years — starting as a passion project for West Carroll Jr./Sr. High School Principal Dr. Adam Douglas.

Douglas began pushing for the program in 2021, when he was still an English teacher for the West Carroll school system. As principal, he saw an avenue to implement the new program.

Since his promotion, Douglas has made significant efforts to include every student in a club or extracurricular activity, acknowledging that not everyone is interested in sports.

“I love sports,” he said. “However, that’s, like, 20% of kids — in any high school you go to. That other 80%, really, is untapped.”

During his first year as principal, Douglas supported a new Dungeons and Dragons Club, which quickly turned into a Board Game Club, and a new Media Club. Now, he sees an eSports program as the next step.

“Every kid goes home and plays video games,” Douglas said. “It’s a booming field.” Colleges, Douglas also pointed out, offer hefty scholarships to top eSports performers.

Douglas approached teachers Jaxon Stringer and Zach DePriest to coach the eSports program in its introductory year, knowing the two share the most gaming experience.

Stringer is West Carroll High School’s head eSports coach; DePriest is Stringer’s assistant coach and the head coach of the middle school team.

Stringer, a high school English and Theatre Arts teacher, was a self-described “Nintendo Kid” growing up, getting his start with a Nintendo Game Boy Advance. He eventually upgraded to a Nintendo Wii, then an Xbox 360, then a PlayStation. Coaching the PC-based eSports team, he said, will be a bit of a learning curve for him.

On the other hand — DePriest, an eighth-grade English teacher, is very familiar with PC gaming and eSports competitions. After college, DePriest traveled to South Korea and taught English for two years — a move that was, in a way, fueled by an interest in South Korea’s eSports scene.

As coaches, Stringer and DePriest plan to teach strategy and encourage sportsmanship between teammates.

“A big thing for us is we want to be able to see the sportsmanship,” Stringer said. “With team games, we need to be able to guide what’s acceptable and unacceptable. We want to be able to make sure the school’s being represented in the best way possible.”

West Carroll’s eSports program is connected through PlayVS, a comprehensive eSports and gaming platform that serves more than 5,000 K‑12 schools and over 900 colleges across North America.

Unlike traditional high school sports whose regional competitions take place within the state, West Carroll’s eSports region includes the entire Central Time Zone.

However, most of the action will take place in West Carroll’s eSports gaming lab — a repurposed storage room attached to the school library. Inside the room are six PC set-ups, pushed against each side of the room’s walls.

The gaming room PCs are different from those in West Carroll’s computer lab, with more updated hardware and designated graphics cards. Each PC set was $1,100-$1,200, purchased through the school’s Innovative School Models grant.

Further down the line, the eSports program will look at fundraising to support the purchase of new keyboards, mice, Nintendo Switches and PlayStations.

Stringer and DePriest mentioned supplying their personal Nintendo Switch consoles for competitions if students show interest in Nintendo games.

 “We want to make it as accessible as possible,” Stringer said.

West Carroll’s eSports program offers a variety of games, chosen based on age-appropriateness.

Middle school students will primarily play Nintendo games, choosing from Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Rocket League. DePriest said he could add Chess and Splatoon based on student interest.

High school students will play more PC-based games, though Nintendo games are still on the table. They can choose from League of Legends, Valorant, Marvel Rivals, Rocket League, Super Smash Bros Ultimate and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

“The big thing for us is that we don’t know what the students want,” Stringer said. “We’re going to cater to their needs first.”

Stringer and DePriest said Lake County High School is the nearest school with an established eSports program. If more schools in West Tennessee start eSports programs, Stringer said, local leagues could develop.

“We are proud that we’re one of the only schools around that has started an eSports program,” Stringer said. “It’s a big thing for colleges right now, and it’s starting to trickle down to high schools. Being a small, rural school, we’re blessed that this is something we can do here now.”

Stringer and DePriest plan to host tryout sessions August 10-14, during which they will look for sportsmanship and effort over gameplay and experience.

“We want to accept as many students as possible,” Stringer said, but having only six PCs leaves them limited. He said they could create a varsity and junior varsity team and break up practices so everyone can use a PC.

The best thing about the program, Stringer and DePriest agreed, is that players have the opportunity to join in either the spring or fall — meaning athletes can play outside of their sport’s season.

West Carroll’s eSports team goes live in September.