Hawkeye Community College is expanding Esports team
posted on Thursday, July 9, 2020 in
College News
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) - The coronavirus has put the future of college sports up in the air. One sport that’s not struggling is Esports, or competitive video gaming. The Hawkeye Community College Esports team in Waterloo is planning to expand this year.
They are looking to have more than 50 players on their Esports team this upcoming season. One benefit about Esports is that they can compete against other colleges without ever seeing them.
That's because all of their games are played online. One reason why they are adding more players is because they are adding more video games. They want players to focus on playing one game. Jacob Abbas is looking forward to the upcoming season.
“I guess I’m just really focused on getting back to as normal as possible,” he said. “Whether that be a new normal or whatever that might be, just getting back. Getting with the people I care about.”
There will be adjustments when they get back to gaming. They plan to spread out the computers and put plastic dividers in between them. The players will practice in small groups and wear a mask
“It’s not like it’s a major distraction when you’re playing with the mask,” said Abbas.
Head coach Billy Howard expects Esports to continue growing safely during the Covid. “Before players enter the arena, we are going to do temperature checks,” he said. “There will be hand sanitizer stations setups. We’re taking every precaution that we can, because players health and safety is our number one priority.” Esports players at Hawkeye can also get a scholarship. Practice will start in August.
By Phil Reed, KCRG TV-9 News
Tags
- Athletics
- esports
- KCRG
- sports