Cranford Esports Wins First State Championship
Established in the 2020-2021 school year, the Cranford Esports program has become a thriving hub where gamers compete and play in a supportive and safe environment, fostering teamwork and community. This fall, the program achieved its first State Championship, with the Super Smash Brothers Ultimate team recording a 2-1 win over Sterling High School on Nov. 23. Starters Ryan West, Lorenzo Rodriguez, and Captain Zach Colyer, took home the Group Two championship belt.
“Our program is growing and developing a strong foundation with the younger players. Everyone has worked hard to get here and we are so proud of them,” said Advisors Mr. Jon Alvarez and Mr. Rich Bell.
Cranford’s team has always been relatively small, but dedicated players constantly push themselves to improve. The Smash team, composed of new players to the game, quickly became the program’s crown jewel– making their first playoff appearance last spring, before the championship win.
“The team chemistry is vital to our success,” said team captain Zachary Colyer. “We play not just to win, but to enjoy the experience, and this team understands the true meaning of teamwork.”
During the 2020-2021 school year, the graphics lab at Cranford High School underwent a computer upgrade. This space became the perfect location for an Esports program. The new computers allowed the Esports titles to be played without system constraints and the graphics classes had faster computers to support the intense programs of Adobe’s Photoshop and Illustrator. This win-win scenario set the stage for the program to have a classroom location for the gamers to meet.
Most matches are played online, and the students meet after school to compete with players from all over NJ and the northeast region. Over the years, they have competed in a few different leagues –some have been for full seasons and some small tournaments. Currently, the team is strongly involved in the Garden State Esports (GSE) League. Established in 2019, the GSE League offers three titles each season for High Schools and Middle Schools to compete at a Championship level (varsity) and a few more titles in the Contenders level (junior varsity). They also offer a Valkyrie League (for women and nonbinary players) and a Unified League (for special needs players) which CHS hopes to participate in in the future.
“Having this extracurricular program is important to these players,” Bell said. “Gaming is important to these students, and by having an Esports program, we are telling them that it is important to us as well. That can help them have more of a reason to come to school and be a part of something bigger than themselves.”
The players also find time during the lunch block to get in some more unofficial practice with the Strategist Guild’s lunchtime meetings. They get some preparation matches in, review opponents, and get warmed up for the afternoon matches.
Freshman Arman Patel said, “I believe that I would not have met many friends if not for the Esports program being available.”
Additionally, our Esports program has sponsored a lot of outside participation including a series of school-wide Mario Kart tournaments, the Roblox “Dress to Impress” competitions in collaboration with our Girls Who Code Chapter, and the Student Council has asked our program to host class competitions with Mario Kart to help raise school spirit. Finally, Project Graduation has reached out about potential fundraising events to support the graduating class.
As we look to the future, Cranford’s gamers are excited about what is next. Nearly 300 colleges have an Esports program, and some of our graduates have already gone on to this level of gaming. With over $50 million in scholarships available nationally, Cranford’s goal is for our students to take full advantage of the growing opportunities in collegiate Esports with recruiting sessions, introductions to coaches, programs, and participation in events that scouts attend. As the Esports program grows, we are looking to implement varsity letters for our players and to establish official varsity coaches to run practices daily during the three seasons. These improvements to our program will boost our players’ visibility to colleges providing them with increased opportunities for the future. We also want to bring home another belt!
For those interested, practices take place after school in the computer lab on Tuesdays through Thursdays. In our meetings, we practice playing the games, plan strategies and plan for our next opponents. Casual play is also encouraged in all of the titles rated “T for teen” and below.
This year, Orange Avenue School and Cranford High School will compete at the Championship and Contenders levels, and Hillside Avenue School will be joining the ranks later this year.