OHHHHHH BOY....

Next week, we have the battle of titans... 

SSBU: Belmond-Klemme Varsity will be taking on the Lake Mills SSBU team. Whoever wins will get a free walk into the playoffs on the middle of November. As of now, both teams are tied 5-0 to 5-0. If we lose, we find ourselves in 2nd place. 

R6: Belmond-Klemme Varsity will be taking on Osage's R6 team. With Osage on the top, Belmond-Klemme NEEDS to win their match 2-0 to be on top, or win their match 2-1 to tie. If we lose, we find ourselves in 2nd place within ourdivision. 

This is it... This week defines our playoffs ranking.. Come support our teams. 

SSBU: October 31 @ 4pm in Mr. Lich's room

R6: November 1 @ 4pm in the BKHS Library

As we quickly approach the end of our 2023 Fall seasons, our R6 team and Smash Bros teams have been having a very successful year. 

• R6 currently sits in second place for our class with a 4-1 record. This week we get a second shot at Garner and are looking for revenge.

• Varsity Smash: with a 4-0 record, they sit at the top of their class, just above Lake Mills. We are looking forward to a great match against them during week 8 (10/30/2023).

• JV Smash: With a 6-0 record, they are not only the top JV team in their class, but the top JV team in the state. 

UPDATE: Our Jerseys are here! If your student brings one home, we need it back. They are not to leave school grounds except for state playoffs or away matches. 

As the Belmond-Klemme Esports teams continue their sprint through the Fall season, we want to check in on the scores, players, and titles!

Smash Bros: Ultimate

• The SSBU teams (Varsity and JV) are both undefeated in regular season play. 

  • The Varsity overcame last week's obstacle of missing two of their starting lineup, and beat Newman Catholic's team 2-0. With a 3-0 win record, the Varsity team is in the track for State. These next three weeks will test our mettle, with #2 ranked team DNH coming in Week 6, #3 Ranked team coming in week 7, and the Lake Mills team coming in week 8 after rescheduling from week 2. Our team is ready for revenge on Lake Mills for removing us from the playoffs in the 2022 Fall Playoffs. 

    • • • • NEWS: Ash Ricke is our for the remainder of the season with a broken finger. 

          • NEWS: Kaden Holmgaard stepped up and played with the big dogs this week, but lost both matches in a 2-3 upset. 

  • The JV team is Undefeated and will finish the season on top. Their week 6 game next week, win or lose, will not matter in our overall placing in the seasonal stats. 

    • • • • NEWS: The JV team is looking towards their playoffs tournament, but nothing has been set in stone as of right now. 

• The Rainbow 6 Siege team has recovered from their week one upset against Garner, and they are now pushing forward with 24 straight round wins (12 last week against AHSTW, and 12 this week against Central Decatur). They look towards Garner in week 7 to get their revenge for the week one loss. 

  • • • • • NEWS: Brayden VanDeWalle will be back full time with the R6 team the week of October 23rd.

Week Zero is upon us, and we at BK are working diligently to get our teams up to snuff before our week one competition. Belmond-Klemme's SSBU team will be competing against WACO high school at 4pm on September 12th. Belmond-Klemmes R6 2022-2023 State Champs will be starting this season off against Osage at 4pm on Septembet 14th. Make sure you come check them out!

Smash Bros has always been my bread and butter, I will admit. I know that game fairly well, through my star varsity might disagree... My abiliites to coach that game are never questioned... BUT when it comes to Rainbow Six Siege, I know very little. My team has been nothing but kind to me during this learning period. I have worked with them on communication, general team building, and overall game sense. All the while I too have been learning with them. As the year moves forward, I anticipate that I will learn more from them than they will from me (no sappy quote intended). 

We are here to bring our students together and teach them skills they will need for the real world. Team building, communication, problem solving, hand eye coordination, sportsmanship, positivity in the face of adversity, etc etc etc. We at BK are strong. We at BK are willing to put in the work. Over the past week and a half our teams have put in many hours towards bettering our skills to remain at the top. BK, we promise you another state title! We will strive for 2, 3, even 4. But we will not come home empty handed! Let's go Broncos!!!

In the next few weeks I will be preparing some things in order to be ready for the 2023-2024 seasons. This update will be short and sweet, but here are just a few things that we have completed and ready for you to view and take part in! We are officially signed up for the Fall, Winter, and Spring titles!!!

1.) The Participant's Manual: If you look at the website you will find a tab marked Manual and Calendar. This manual was made to ensure that all our players are held to the same standard of excellence across the teams. In the past I know it has been confusing with different coaches having different expectations, but we have worked closely with the admin team and the Activities Director to ensure that our goals align. Student excellence and achievement are at the forefront of our organization! 

2.) Bound: With this close working relationship with the AD, we are working on getting all of our games listed on the BK bound page. It will be much easier to keep up to date with the information if you have easier access to it. What better way than to have it right on your phones?!?!

3.) The Parent's meeting: August 24th at 6pm in the HS library we will have an esports parent meeting. During this meeting we will discuss all of the important information that is to come in the Fall, Winter, and Spring seasons. We are continuing to move this program forward. With out growing numbers, we must have growing organizational skills. This transparency with the parents will hopefully help us achieve this. 

HIGHLIGHT OF THE WEEK!

A group of BKCSD esports students participated in a tournament this past week at Fort Frenzy. Bringing back the win for the entire tournament was, BK's very own, Tristan Morales. 

~Per aspera ad astra~

(through hardships, to the stars)

Until next week,

-Lich

Hello! My name is Austin Lich and welcome to the first DEC weekly update. I would like to take this time to briefly inform you all about how our organization functions and how our teams are orchestrated.

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1.) The IAHSEA: The Iowa High School Esports Association (IAHSEA) is a non profit state organization that is focused on building a community where students can get a highly competitive esports experience through their schools. Belmond-Klemme's Team is one of the 8 original founders of the state program. 

I, as the Designated Esports Coordinator (DEC), am tasked with being the conduit between the state and our school's team. As head coach, I am directly involved with the school's teams AND the state. The IAHSEA organizes its seasons into three categories. Fall, Winter, and Spring. They offer a variety of games, of which we will be involved in 4 over the course of the school year. 

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2.) Team Organization: I organize our teams based on the 3 following principals. Skill, Sportsmanship, and Coachability. I have told our kids multiple times that I would rather lose every game than play people who don't deserve to be a part of the team. I strive to teach my kids hard work ethic, team building skills, and overall the listening skills to improve their overall ability in game. I will be offering the following teams for the following titles. 

Rainbow 6: Varsity

Smash Bros: Varsity and JV

Overwatch 2: Varsity and JV

Valorant: Varsity

Try outs for each of the teams will take place during week 0 of each season. Team captains will be voted on by the players of the teams once the lists have been solidified. 

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3.) Final Words: I would like to say thank you in advance for your support of our students. The support you have given us in the past years leads me to believe that we will find that support continued in the years to come. I am so grateful to be a part of this amazing program, and I never thought I would be here leading the charge with some fantastic students. 

I cannot say it enough. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU! Without the students, parents, community, administration, we wouldn't be here! We have a bright future ahead of us. 

~Per aspera, ad astra~

(through hardships, to the stars)

Until next week,

-Lich