Mount Vernon STEAM Academy E-Sports Club ‘a great outlet for many of our students’

One of the unique after-school activities is the STEAM Knights E-Sports club. The program, with about 60 participants, began in October 2023 and is led by coach/advisors Ian Smith, a social studies teacher, and Peter Palij, a math teacher.

“E-sports is a really great way for students to come together after school and participate in a non-traditional sport because this is treated like a competitive sport,” Smith said.

Students team up and play against a team from another high school somewhere else in the country, most often on the East Coast, and they basically play in a competitive manner. They strategize, they communicate, they collaborate, and the results of their matches are recorded. Students have a chance to qualify for playoffs and a national-level tournament.

“For students who might not normally go for, you know, a traditional sport, this is a great outlet for many of our students,” Smith said.