Every campus is different as is every student body. If you want to start an esports team, you first need to understand what your students play. Once your school has decided on your lineup of games or your preferred game, make sure you reach out to as many players as possible. You should replicate the way your traditional sports teams recruit students, which includes but isn’t limited to:
Posting flyers and ads across campus
Making announcements at the start of day/start of periods
Hold lunch-time or after-school meetings to go over details with potentially interested students
If students come to you and ask for a particular team, make sure they have enough students involved to make it happen.
As a general rule of thumb, a team needs enough students to field a complete starting lineup, plus at least half that many substitutes, and 2-3 student coaches.
You might have some students who are interested in joining the team as a staff member without any intention of playing. If that’s the case, interview them early, before tryouts, to try and give them as much time as possible to get acclimated to the team environment. Allow them to help set up the rest of the tryout and recruitment process.
Having support staff join will help with every other aspect of team management on the timeline. In addition, the extra time before the players join the team can be spent to develop synergy and staff roles. You can always add more staff members in the form of players who don’t make the starting lineup in tryouts but still want to contribute on a day-to-day basis.
Image Source: NWITimes - Munster Esports
Finding support staff is exactly the same as finding players to try out for the team, except for a few steps in the process. Coaches should go through interviews where they discuss:
Their history and background in the chosen game or gaming in general
Leadership experience and other competitive experience
Skills outside of gaming (management, analysis, broadcasting, etc.)
The coaches and team leadership should create criteria for what to look for in good players and coaches. Although many skills can be taught and honed throughout the year, be sure to take note of players who fit these criteria.
Some examples of what to look for in players:
Game Skill
Communication
Leadership
Positive Attitude
Open to Feedback/Critique
Some examples of what to look for in student-coaches/management:
Game Knowledge/Passion
Communication & Organization
Leadership
Positive Attitude
Open to Feedback/Critique
Once you have selected your preliminary staff, it’s time to turn your attention to the players, and the tryouts you’ll run to select them.
Google Forms is a great way to collect application information and gauge the interest for your team.
Here are some common questions you might want to ask on your application:
Real Name
In-Game Name
Email (ask for a school email if possible)
Grade Year
Desired Position (player/coach/etc.)
Game Role/Characters (if applicable)
Rank (if applicable)
Competitive/Leadership Experience
Interest in Coaching/Administrative Position
Coaches should manage a list of players as they complete these forms. Keep track of information needed to run tryouts (Name, Game Name, Rank, and Roles).