Teamwork led Grandview to esports championship

In an interview with members of the Grandview High School’s Esports team, it was great to hear how solid coaching, overcoming a traditional league rival, and school pride all played a role in their run to the championship.

Here are some excerpts from my interview:

Talk to me about your championship team.

There are five roles needed to play League of Legends. A top laner, a jungler, a mid-laner, an ADC and a support. Our top laner was Brian Lu, who is now in his junior year here at Grandview. Brian quickly established himself as a dominant force in the top lane and was routinely “target banned” by the other teams. Brian’s extensive game and champion knowledge made him one of the most formidable top lakers in the League. Brian will be instrumental in leading the team to another potential championship.
Our Jungler was played by Anh Dao, who has since graduated. Anh was a great team player who never complained or was ever easily flustered. He knew what he had to do to help the team be successful and he executed masterful “Ganks” to assist other lanes. His overall game knowledge was invaluable, as he was able to secure vital objectives, while expertly moving around the map to assist his teammates.
Grandview’s Mid Laner role was played by Dillon Pham, who is now a senior. Dillon was an excellent shot caller and would often make critical calls for the team to either collapse on an objective, or to coordinate strategic withdrawals for the team to regroup and go on the offensive. Dillon’s tenacity and leadership will be critical to the future success of the team moving forward.
The ADC (Attack Damage Carry) and support roles were played by Joshua Bayarsaikhan and Calvin Kim, who have both since graduated. Both players were in sync from the beginning of the season to the Championship. Their trust in each other’s abilities was the definition of camaraderie and coordination. This dynamic duo was able to effectively win their lanes, while supporting others and was another big reason why this team went undefeated.

Tell me about your coach. Is he a gamer? What is his background in education? What are 2-3 things that you learned from him that truly made a difference in your season?

Mr. Nevares came to Grandview midway through the school year. As a brand-new teacher, he was made aware that the school wanted to start an Esports team and he volunteered immediately for the position. Mr. Nevares also plays League of Legends but admits that his players could totally dominate him if they were to ever play each other. Mr. Nevares is a first-year social studies teacher at Grandview. Prior to teaching at Grandview, Mr. Nevares served in the United States Marine Corps and was a UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) operator. His prior experience in the military made him an excellent candidate to lead a group of students who have never played together, in a league that was just created, to ultimately winning the State Championship. Mr. Nevares made instant connections with the students by connecting with them through their mutual interest in the same game and through his enthusiasm to want to make the team the best version of themselves as possible. We are extremely proud of what Mr. Nevares and the players have accomplished in such a short amount of time and we can’t wait to see how much the program grows.

On your road to the championship, who were some teams that really challenged you? How did you persevere?

The first and last games of the season were the most challenging for the team because we had no idea how they would turn out. The first game was the first time the players had to apply their skills against another team, so it could have gone either way. After the first game, it became very apparent that Grandview had something very special, and the anxiety went away almost immediately. We definitely have an in-district rival that we could not wait to face. That team was Cherry Creek High School’s Esports team. The reason why this game meant so much was due to a couple of factors: The first was that Cherry Creek was the reigning fall esports state champions (before we had a team) and they are within our district and are traditional rivals in other sports. Additionally, the coach for Cherry Creek is an alumnus of Grandview, so as much as we wanted to play them, they wanted to play against us. We were ultimately victorious in our games against Cherry Creek, but we foresee this becoming a continuous rivalry for years to come. Through a combination of skill, determination, trust in each other, and the willingness to compete, our Esports team was able to achieve victory and status as State Champions.

How does it feel to know that you are the 2021 CHSAA Esports spring champion?

It’s absolutely incredible to think that in just our first season we became state champions. Not many programs can say they have established a winning tradition in their very first season, so the fact that our students have done this shows how talented and driven the students of Grandview are.

You lost a couple of players to graduation. How did you go about filling those seats for the upcoming season?

We will be holding tryouts at the end of August to refill the ranks.

With the 2021 fall season just two weeks away, are you ready to chase another title?

Word of mouth has reached many of our student population and we expect to have a massive turnout of students who want to join the winning team. With an even larger pool of students who may be interested in joining the team, I am confident we can assemble a team to continue a winning tradition for Grandview.

How does it feel to have won a championship for your school?

We couldn’t be more proud of the hard work and dedication our students have put in to become state champions for Grandview. Being able to say that you are the best team in an entire state is incredibly inspiring to other students who may want to join in the future.

What’s your message to schools who are looking to add esports?

We definitely recommend adding an Esports team to your school if you don’t already have one. This unique sport is an outlet for students who want to showcase their skills for their school in their own way. Kids are already playing a lot of video games, so we say, “Why not harness that interest into something that can potentially help them grow as a person?” All after school activities should have the goal of wanting to mold each student who joins into better versions of themselves, and Esports is definitely a way to do that.

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