Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your background in esports/gaming?

 I am a K-12 art teacher at Baraga Area Schools. We are in the northern U.P. on the shore of Lake Superior. I have always been a gamer since I was a kid myself. 

How do you foster a positive and supportive team environment among your players? 

We are a small school so our players all know each other well already. We have been practicing every week since the late fall. We share ideas and strategies at the practices. The team came up with their own unique name and logo, Superior Wilds - Baraga esports. Another student in the group designed it digitally. I think it helped to bring them all together in a positive way. 

Can you share a memorable moment or achievement from your time as a coach? 

I wanted to get our esports program back up and running after a previous staff member who started it quit. We have very nice gaming PC's that we got with a grant which were sitting idle for a year. They started to talk about selling them so I picked it up. I asked the previous staff member for advice on which league to join and he said MiHSEF. I also wanted our students to have more options for after school activities rather than the traditional sports. We really only offer sports as club options right now as our school is so small. I wanted other kids to have more opportunities for their interests. 

What are your goals for your team and the esports program at your school? 

I want them to succeed academically and succeed as a team in their matches. I want them to learn what it feels like to work hard as a group and have success, and some failure. Learn from it and grow. I also want our older members to take the younger ones under their wing and make them feel welcome. I want our program to continue to grow and be another option for our students.