LF_013020

28 | January 30, 2020 | The lake forest leader SPORTS
LakeForestLeaderDaily.com
Posted to LakeForestLeaderDaily.com 6 days ago
eSports grows in popularity at Lake Forest High School
Nick Frazier, Sports Editor
Brian Boruszak, a
social studies teacher
at Lake Forest High
School, has been playing
video games for a long
time.
So when some LFHS
students approached
Boruszak last year about
sponsoring a League of
Legends eSports team,
Boruszak was thrilled.
The group of seniors
needed a sponsor to compete
in the Illinois High
School eSports Association.
“They tried to do it
without a teacher keeping
them organized, it just
fell through the cracks,”
Boruszak said. “They
found out that I actually
play the game myself, so
they approached me. I
was thrilled for the opportunity
to tell my wife that
my video game playing
was for more than just my
own entertainment. “
After competing as a
pilot club last year, the
Lake Forest eSports team
is now an official activity,
and Boruszak is officially
the team’s head coach.
About 15 kids participated
last season by playing
League of Legends,
a wildly popular multiplayer
online battle video
game.
In its first season, the
eSports team finished
third in the League of
Legends, or LOL, state
tournament. With more
students participating this
year, Boruszak and his
team have their sights set
on a state title.
Right now, the students
are preparing for
the 2020 LOL season
as well as Overwatch, a
team-based multiplayer
first-person video game.
In both leagues, there is
an eight-week regular season
before the final eight
teams compete in the state
playoffs. Last season, the
LOL state tournament
took place at Robert Morris
University-Illinois.
“Robert Morris is one
of the top teams in the
country for collegiate, so
that was a really cool opportunity
for our kids to
see a college program,”
Boruszak said. “They
built a stadium there, it’s a
really cool environment.”
For the 2019 season,
Lake Forest had about
12 kids come in regularly
to hone their skills. This
season, the Scouts have
over 20 kids competing
in the two leagues, and
Boruszak expects more
kids to trickle in as the
season gets underway.
The eSports program
should continue to grow
in numbers thanks to its
new feeder program. Anthony
Pollina is a STEM
teacher at Deer Path Middle
School who started
a LOL program for his
students. Boruszak believes
the Deer Path team
has about 20 kids involved.
“We’re hopefully going
to have a large number
hopefully in the next couple
of years going through
the system,” Boruszak
said.
“The best part is I get
to have an excuse to
play video games and
it’s for a good reason,
more than just he’s sitting
on the couch. Getting
to share my enjoyment
of playing video games
with the students, seeing
the enthusiasm, the
intensity, the excitement
of being part of competitive
video game atmosphere.
For a lot of them,
their experiences with
video games have been
sitting at home on their
couch with a couple of
buddies. This gives them
an opportunity to have
some pride in their video
game playing, they get
to represent their school.
For a lot of them it’s the
first time they’ve been a
part of an organized team,
so it gives them that opportunity
to feel what it’s
like to be a part of a team
and to cheer one another
on. There were so many
games last year where it
was touch and go and then
we came out with the win.
To see the excitement on
their faces, the enthusiasm
they were showing during
the game, the composure
that they kept to keep us
in it. It was cool to see
just how excited they got
about taking something
they loved as a hobby and
turning it into something
that meant something.”
high school highlights
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SCOUTS VARSITY
ATHLETICS
BOYS BASKETBALL
LF 45, Vernon Hills 40
Cade Nowik had 12
points on Jan. 21.
LF 51, Libertyville 44
Asa Thomas totaled 18
points and 10 rebounds,
and Jack Malloy had 11
points on Friday, Jan. 24.
Lindblom 51, LF 37
Thomas had 19 points
in the Orr Breast Cancer
Shootout on Saturday, Jan.
25.
GIRLS BASKETBALL
LF 52, Glenbrook South 43
Finola Summerville
led the Scouts in scoring
with 18 points on Jan. 21.
Rachel Kaus totaled 13
points, and Halle Douglass
set the program record for
all-time rebounds.
Stevenson 48, LF 25
Douglass had 13 points
and nine rebounds on Friday,
Jan. 24.
GIRLS GYMNASTICS
Mundelein 144.75, LF
139.6
Kristin Fisch finished
third all-around with 35.85
points, and Taylor Cekay
and Lindsay Fontana
placed sixth and seventh
on Jan. 22.
WRESTLING
Lake County Invite
Jack Owen, Max Terlap,
Truman Thuente,
Sebastian Starks, Chase
Waggoner and Bennett
Duggan all finished All-
County, leading the Scouts
to a fifth-place team finish
on Saturday, Jan. 25.
CAXYS VARSITY
ATHLETICS
BOYS BASKETBALL
St. Francis 45, LFA 38
Jaylen Jennings scored
13 points in the MLK
Tournament game on Jan.
20 hosted by Wheaton
Warrenville South.
LFA 55, Downers Grove
North 42
Jennings scored 21
points and made the MLK
All-Tournament team on
Jan. 21.