The State Fair Community College (SFCC) Esports team has been busy preparing for the upcoming fall season. The team is coming off the best season in the program's brief history. Last spring the Rainbow Six Siege team claimed the first National Championship in the program's history, which was hosted by the National Junior College Athletic Association Esports (the governing body for two-year collegiate Esports).
Head coach Jacob Coleman likes what he has seen from his team so far.
"Practices have been going great," said Coleman. "We are looking really sharp. Our teams are meshing well. They're getting along perfectly."
The team will participate in numerous games/titles this season including, Fortnite, Call of Duty Gunfight, Rocket League, Overwatch 2, Rainbow Six Siege, FIFA 23, NBA2K, Super Smash Bros., and Mario Kart.
"We were blessed to be able to recruit some talented Rainbow Six Siege players to make up for players who graduated off last year's national championship team. We were also fortunate to be able to return players off last year's Rainbow Six Siege roster. That team is looking good."
Coach Coleman has been impressed with a couple of players so far in practice.
"Trenton Hardy has really stood out so far practice with his drive and determination on the Overwatch team," said Coleman. "I have really seen him improve since joined in August. He is really dedicated to improving and stays focused and motivated. He pushes his team to do the same. My Rocket League team is looking good. They're putting a lot of time in to be able to get where they need to be. Our Rainbow Six Siege team is a tightknit group of guys, who are really dedicated and all mesh well. It shows in their gameplay."
Coleman sees leaders starting to emerge in each title.
"Wesley Albin is really starting to drive our Rocket League team," said Coleman. "Our Call of Duty team is being led by Yale Barkefelt Jr. Trenton Hardy is leading our Overwatch 2 team. Skylar Owen Perry is leading our Rainbow Six Siege team and is one of the best players in the game, who will help lead our team to success."
The Esports program has goals they would like to accomplish during the upcoming season. They would like to improve the overall grade point average for the program this season and become more involved in the community. They also want to be successful in competition and make it to the NJCAAE playoffs.
Coach Coleman sees four keys for accomplishing those goals.
"Our keys to success are going to be teamwork and camaraderie," said Coleman. "It speaks volumes when the team is enjoying each other's company and they don't get burnt out. Players must have good relationships. For example, our Rainbow Six Siege team has already become good friends. These are people who have only known each other for about a month and they are already acting like they've known each other forever. It will also be important to have fun and make sure we stay motivated."
David Rohrbach SFCC Athletics