Esports: What Counselors and CTE Educators Need to Know

For generations, school sports have been a critical part of the high school ecosystem. Participating in sports provides opportunities for students to develop teamwork, refine new skills, demonstrate persistence, provide outlets for mind-body connection by staying fit, and are, overall, a valuable way for students to be a part of the larger school community. In contrast, playing video games and being on electronic devices has often been seen as negative. These are viewed as solitary activities that preclude students from being outside, reading, doing homework, playing sports, or other constructive uses of time. Despite these perceptions, Esports–defined as competitive multiplayer video gaming–have seen rapid expansion over the past five years across a variety of sectors, including high schools and colleges around the country. 

In 2015, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) recognized Esports as an official competitive sport. As of 2024, the Network of Academic and Scholastic Esports Federations (NASEF), which is the founding organization for scholastic Esports, has 3,400 clubs across 50 states and continues to grow. There are estimated to be an additional 5,200 teams competing in smaller leagues and as independent schools. Over 200 colleges are now offering scholarships for successful players. And the global reception of Esports can be marked with the announcement from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) this past July that they will be holding the first ever Esports Olympics in 2025 in Saudi Arabia. Something that has surprised many is that the growth of Esports has been fueled not only by youth interest in competition using popular games, but because the programs allow for powerful hands-on learning for participating students.

College and Career Readiness (CCR) and Esports

In Esports programs, the infrastructure of producing, promoting, and broadcasting the competitions are staffed by students. This component significantly broadens the appeal of participation, similar to the way in which having student assistants, cheerleaders, journalists, and other roles has been used in traditional high school sports arrangements for generations. And the roles necessary for Esports teams allow for the development of critical college and career readiness skills, even more than many traditional sports as they require students to utilize communications skills, learn sophisticated digital literacies, and provide a deep sense of shared purpose. Competing in an Esports league requires a team to have players, coaches, technical support staff, broadcasters, finance support, social media managers, and content creators. As students take on these roles, they develop teamwork and leadership skills, learn to think critically and problem solve, and practice collaborating with others and planning ahead. These executive functioning and life skills set the foundation for being ready for students’ postsecondary next steps. 

In many ways, Esports teams and leagues provide a microcosm of many private sector enterprises. Each of the different Esports roles has direct analogs in professional businesses. Students participating in Esports through these roles have hands-on experiences and develop skills that typically have only been possible through internships and other work-based learning opportunities outside of school. For many students, this experience with Esports extends into their college success and career choices. Esports participation has been correlated with increased college enrollment and significantly higher rates of students intending to pursue STEM fields in postsecondary studies. And female students who participate in gaming–a group typically under-represented in STEM fields–have a 3.6 times higher rate of studying a STEM field upon entering higher education.

From Extracurricular to CTE Course Work

Because of this, educator interest in promoting Esports has grown significantly beyond those looking to implement extracurricular activities. Notably, professional organizations of career and technology education have been strong advocates of schools implementing Esports programs. The Association of Career and Technical Education (ACTE) has cited Esports as a way of promoting “career pathways such as software development, information technology (IT), Engineering, all programming related fields, as well as orbital careers in sports marketing and Arts, A/V Technology and Communications related fields.” This provides a positive feedback loop between students’ extracurricular activities, enrollment in CTE courses, and the development of CCR skills. 

Beyond recognition as an official extracurricular activity, the interest in and growth of Esports programs has drawn the attention and support of state departments of education. While most Esports programs were initiated with local or philanthropic funding, a number of states–including California, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin–have provided competitive grant opportunities for schools to establish teams with state education funds. The state of Georgia has become a leader in developing career pathways around Esports and digital entertainment beginning in middle school, extending through high schools and public universities, and connecting these pathways to economic development initiatives tied to the software, film, and entertainment industries.

With this support, states are developing or approving courses and course pathways explicitly tied to Esports. There is now a sufficiently diverse set of curriculum providers and implementations across the nation that schools looking to introduce Esports can find a model that aligns with their local circumstances of size, funding, and readiness. 

Far-Reaching Benefits for Students

Many educators who have implemented Esports programs have seen notable positive impacts on engagement and success across a wide diversity of students. Participation in Esports clubs and formal programs tend to be remarkably diverse and representative of the overall school community. This inclusiveness is reflective of the broad student interests in the many aspects of gaming and digital entertainment across the full demographic spectrum–including gender, race, and socio-economic background, academic performance, disability status, and primary language–found in schools. In short, Esports has been found to promote inclusivity and have a broad reach in school communities across the nation. 

In repeated studies of these programs, students participating in Esports have shown decreased rates of absenteeism and behavioral incidences and higher rates of positive engagement with school. And, most importantly to the core mission of schools, participation has been shown to have positive impacts on student achievement. Counselors and CTE educators should be open to supporting, or even creating, Esports programs and leagues as a way to promote life skill development, academic achievement, and college and career readiness. Leveraging student interest in playing games is an easy path to preparing today’s students for success in tomorrow’s world.