From Monday, July 8, through Thursday, July 11, Northwest Missouri State University (Northwest) Recreation held its first Esports Summer Camp.
Over a dozen attendees from surrounding middle and high schools were able to participate in fun, team-oriented gaming activities while learning skills related to communication, personal development, problem-solving and best online practices.
Andrew Murphy, the esports coordinator and coach at Northwest, said the primary goal of the camp was to provide a holistic and inclusive environment for all participants.
“Just like traditional sports, esports serve the purpose of getting students to intentionally play their games,” said Murphy. “There’s a huge difference between just playing games and intentionally practicing. The goals of the camp cover three basic topics — leadership skills, communication and mindset. Those skills will make them more attractive to future employers, or if they want to get a scholarship in college. It helps create them into future leaders.”
Esports Success at Northwest
Murphy first arrived as the esports coordinator in 2023 and developed the new summer camp program. Greg Hansen, the assistant vice president of Student Affairs in Campus Recreation, said not only is the camp Murphy created exciting, but it brings several benefits to the department.
“It’s not only about playing games,” said Hansen. “It’s bringing forward the esports world to our community and to people who were wondering about it. We talk with parents and other people on how esports are real. They get to come to campus and see our facilities and equipment. We share how students can have a career in this field. Esports is here and we endorse it.”
In fact, Northwest Campus Recreation has esports offerings in the form of scholarship-based competitive platforms, club and intramural teams, and recreational gaming.
According to Murphy, the overall initiative and summer camp both assist with recruitment and retention, but the core of the camp and having esports at Northwest is the idea of providing a sense of community for these individuals.
“Traditionally, these students have never been engaged with the university at this level,” said Murphy. “Now, we are truly engaging all kinds of individuals. There’s a large percentage of students on college campuses who identify as a gamer. We need to be engaging, retaining and recruiting them. We also need to provide them with the tools necessary to become an esports athlete and to interface with our program.”
Murphy added other benefits for esports participants at Northwest include instruction on healthy lifestyles, regular breaks while playing, increased mental awareness and a renewed focus on having a growth mindset.
Advice and Tips
Esports were able to develop at the university due to a focus on first creating six foundational areas where the program could grow. The department calls this the “Six Cs” which include:
- Competitive
- Club
- Casual experiences
- Careers
- Classrooms
- Community
Along with these six areas, Murphy said campus recreation departments should start small when creating an esports program.
“Do small events and you don’t need to invest too much if you want to get it off the ground,” said Murphy. “It’s very much student driven. Gain the necessary administrative support. Also, supporting esports is cheaper to fund than traditional athletics in the large run. If you do provide this, it does need to be holistic and serve a multitude of students.”
Total administrative support is one of three primary elements Hansen said is essential to have when growing esports. The other two are having the support of the IT department and that campus recreation must march the program forward.
With the university being in the small community of Maryville, Missouri, Hansen added they were very conscious of other surrounding programs because sometimes they had to compete for attendees. The department found out there was an ideal opening after the Fourth of July, and the program was purposefully kept it small so they could evaluate how to move forward with the camp in the future.
“Next year, we want to look at partnering with other organizations like our local Parks & Rec and other departments on campus,” said Hansen. “Our goal is to have an overnight camp for attendees to stay on campus just like a traditional athletics camp. Anything really is possible with this.”
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