TR PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT MAHARRY — MCC Esports Management Faculty member and Marshalltown resident Nate Rodemeyer, left, and Esports coach Andrew Goforth, right, hope to build the college’s program into one of the best in the state and country. It will officially start next school year.
Esports, the fastest growing competitive activity in the world, is now on the rise locally as both Marshalltown Community College and Marshalltown High School launch their new programs this fall, making Marshalltown a potential hotspot for video game competition and unique educational opportunities.
Andrew Goforth — the MCC esports coach and professor of English and literature — volunteered to lead the development of esports ideas earlier this year because he has extensive video game experience after graduating from Grand View University, one of the top esports schools in Iowa, and participate in their growth program. The esports launch at MCC is supported by Dean of Academic Affairs Vincent Boyd and Provost Robin Lilienthal, who believe the program will be well worth the investment.
Marshalltown gave me a chance. I am very grateful for that. I am also very grateful that they believed in me to put this program together,” said Goforth. “Opportunities like this just don’t come along very often.”
The other face of MCC esports is Marshalltown-born Nate Rodemeyer, who is also a promising addition to the newly established program, and will lead the management program as a faculty member this fall. For the past 10 years, he taught social studies at Williamsburg High School, where he coached their esports team for three years and last year served as president of the Iowa High School Esports Association (IAHSEA). Rodemeyer has seen the growth in esports firsthand as the number of high school teams went from 12 three years ago to 31 by the end of the following year. When he recently left for the MCC position, there were 67 high school esports teams in the IAHSEA.
While collegiate esports teams are already established in the National Junior College Athletic Association for Esports (NJCAAE), the MCC program offers more than just an approved team by launching the first and only esports management program in Iowa. Within the management program, there is a diploma program that requires 33 credits and an associate degree management program that requires 64 credits. Both recent graduates and non-traditional students can obtain official coaching certification and/or set up an education pathway that will allow those already in that field to continue their education and/or legitimize previous competitive gaming experiences.
The esports management program already offers internship opportunities and scholarships based on various criteria, including students’ competitive ability, ambition, teamwork, leadership, and other positive aspects of sportsmanship. This will create opportunities beyond video games, allowing students to participate behind the scenes and in paid roles such as helping the lab and operating the space with or without instructors. For example, a student is doing analytics for the team, and an intern may be shared with the marketing team that specializes in social media communications and promotions.
“As a community college, MCC can offer those job-related positions to students, and they can get paid, get scholarship money, and gain that valuable experience,” Rodemeyer said. “This will give new graduates and non-trads an edge over others in the job market, as much of the lessons will be built around building a portfolio, showing things off, things you’ve done, produced and events you’ve seen. ‘ not just studies.”
While the new esports lab is still under renovation, high-end equipment has been acquired, including three flat screen TVs for console gaming, PCs, whiteboards for strategy, and an instructor station, making it one of the most opulent facilities in the state.
TR PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT MAHARRY — A state-of-the-art esports lab is currently under construction on the Marshalltown Community College campus. Both MCC and Marshalltown High School plan to launch competitive esports teams in the 2022-2023 school year, and leaders from both institutions hope it will create a symbiotic relationship between them.
Both PC and Nintendo Switch will be used for competition, but PC gaming won’t start until the fall of ’23 semester. Nintendo Switch competition games will include Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros., while PC games will include Overwatch 2, Rainbow Six: Siege, Call of Duty Warzone, Rocket League and Valorant.
With each competition not expected to start until spring, this fall will be a time for team building and ironing out the necessary details to become a functioning and thriving program. Tryouts will be held on August 8-9 and every student must participate in the bootcamp. While at least 10 students are already enrolled on the team by the fall, the ultimate goal is to land somewhere closer to 50 team members. Going forward, the competitions will be held all year round, in both fall and spring, and only against other NJCAAE esports teams.
MHS Director Jacque Wyant is equally excited about launching high school esports this fall. This provides variety for extracurricular activities and gives students another opportunity to find a sense of belonging and the camaraderie that comes with being part of a team. When student counselor Dan Terrones sponsored fun activity evenings last school year, the students expressed their desire for an organized video game club or even an established competition team.
As MHS joins the IAHSEA, there will be JV and Varsity teams for all three seasons: Fall, Winter, and Spring. Travel is not necessary as there is a lab dedicated to the program that can also be used for students who wish to participate at the club level, not on the JV or Varsity teams.
MHS will follow suit with MCC by Super Smash Bros. and to emphasize Mario Kart as the centerpiece of the competition.
“Everything we do in high school, we try to link back to programs that are in the community college,” Wyant said.
Recognizing the parallels in opportunities between high school and college is essential to align with students’ educational needs. Teachers are looking more cautiously at careers they didn’t even know existed so that the curriculum caters to students’ future success.
Wyant hopes that bringing esports to MHS will break some of the stigma associated with video gaming and give skeptical parents the fruitful opportunities they may have in store for their children.
“People just don’t understand or are just becoming aware of the amount of money that is going into this new game world,” Wyant says.
After doing some research with other high schools, MHS leaders have little to no reservations about allowing even first-person shooter games, as long as the students have written parental consent. By establishing esports, MHS is optimistic it will support positive personal characteristics similar to traditional sports, such as sportsmanship, leadership and ambition.
“I think I probably had the most anxiety when I had my youngest, who is 20. So he grew up playing video games since he was early, before high school. And so I was very hesitant about Call of Duty and some of those other first-person shooter games,” Wyant admitted.
This program could also be yet another binder that keeps students who do not participate in traditional sports closely associated with school, engaged and ultimately more likely to graduate.
The potential symbiotic relationship between MCC and MHS could prove to be a driving force in making Marshalltown a hub for esports and continuing education through such avenues.
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