It’s not often that you hear of a high school making space for student competitive gaming. Akron’s STEM High School is modifying the school library to make space in January for a new gaming center for their esports team. The district has approved spending $39,000 on the project.
The esports team has about 40 students who compete at JV and Varsity levels in online gaming matches against other high schools. Team coach Jeff Caranna says the program gives students a feeling of comradery.
"Part of the reason why we went through with this project was that being the STEM High School, we don’t have our own sports teams," Caranna said. "Our kids who attend here all go and play baseball, football, and basketball at their home schools.
In the two and a half years since Caranna started the team, they’ve won two championships. He says any Akron high school student can be on the team, and he’s looking to expand it into the middle schools.
