Tucson high school looks to level up in fast-growing esports scene

The state’s newest high school sport kicked off its fall exhibition season this week, and it’s game on for students throughout Tucson.

As local high schoolers power up their computers and put their headsets on, they’re prepping for weeks of fast-paced, high-energy gaming tournaments.

But these players aren’t just gaming. They’re learning strategic thinking, problem-solving and good sportsmanship.

And one Tucson-area school is looking to level up in the fast-growing world of esports.

While some local high schools will only compete in one or two games, Andrada Polytechnic High School in southeast Tucson is set to compete in four games this year, including Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, League of Legends, Rocket League and Marvel Rivals.

This fall’s eight-week exhibition season is essentially a preseason for the AIA’s championship season next year.

Although it’s Andrada Poly’s second year in esports, it’s the Mavericks’ first time participating in the exhibition season.

“(The students) they’re pretty excited about it,” said Rovan Agad, Andrada Poly’s esports coordinator. “To try it out and to experience the competition level, but not the actual season yet, to be able to make those adjustments, and see errors, get good data, and then to have that feel of the competition ahead of time is great. Last year, we feel like we jumped straight into the battle.”

Interest in the program has only grown at Andrada since its launch last year.

What started with only a few teens has turned into around 35 students participating in the program, all hoping to make one of the coveted competition spots.

“We did a qualifier before fall break and it’s a qualifier for us to see who can make it to the team because there’s a lot of them,” Agad said. “And then we did our last five matches on the big screen in the commons area during lunch. It was that spirit of esports, where it’s just students eating lunch, hanging out and you got people screaming if a move is made or if somebody made a comeback. So, it was a big development this year.”

But like with any successful program, there have been a few growing pains along the way.

Andrada Poly’s biggest hurdles have been a lack of resources, such as gaming computers for students to use.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

In an effort to maximize available resources at the school, Agad, who is also a math teacher, and Andrada Poly’s tech department found a solution to help get students back in the game.

When the tech team was about to toss five Mac computers, Agad decided that the esports team could use them. The only issue? Most esports games don’t run on Mac’s iOS system.

However, with a little tech magic, the team found a way to install Windows on the computers.

The five refurbished computers, plus Agad and his wife’s gaming laptops, have allowed students to play and compete at a whole new level.

“It was frustrating last year because sometimes you can’t really compete with teams that have the actual equipment to run (the games),” Agad said. “There’s always those instances where we feel like we could win the game, but then, either it glitches or there’s some graphics issues. So, those were just our parameters, but our mindset was, as long as we start this, as long as we put the school on the map, and as long as people know we have this program running, then we’ll start getting some support.”

The program is still accepting used gaming laptops and computer mice from the community.

With even more resources on deck than last season, the Mavericks are hoping to make it back to the elite Grand Canyon University high school esports tournament.

Last season, Andrada Poly competed against 88 high schools from around the state at the tournament. Despite the school coming in as a dark horse in the competition, the team made it all the way to the top 32.

One gamer from Andrada Poly, Rylan Allen, finished as second runner-up out of 20 other gamers in the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate division of the GCU tournament.

“‘I remember you guys going to the playoffs and it’s a school that we never heard of and suddenly you’re in the playoffs,’” Agad recalled another esports coordinator telling him ahead of this season.

As Agad and the Mavericks focus on building their team and improving gameplay during the exhibition season, they still have their sights set far beyond this fall.

They aspire to make state tournaments and keep the program alive for as long as possible.

“I just feel like these students and the players that we have this year, they deserve to have this chance to compete,” Agad said. “It brings me back to my high school days and even in my college days, when I was an esports player. It’s different when you just play with your friends and the competition is not there. But when you try to prove yourself worthy of a (gaming) skill level, it just keeps you going.”