Future Stars Launches eSports Program this Summer

The camp will focus on Esports and foster healthy competition through video games.

By Niko Vercelletto April 15, 2019

This summer, Future Stars Summer Camps is offering an eSports program for two separate weeks: July 15-19 and Aug. 12-16. eSports is a form of competition using video games. For now, the program will train kids in the games League of Legends and Fortnite. The program’s goals are the same as all Future Stars’ other camps: develop fundamentals, strategy, and communication skills.

“[At Future Stars], one of our key components is working as a team, and eSports fosters that,” says John Mees, site director for Future Stars at St. Joseph’s College. “I think many people think of [video games] as procrastination and just wasting time, but that’s completely changed. …Currently, one hundred colleges are offering eSports scholarships; it’s now a viable profession and a huge industry.”

Registration for the eSports program, and all other sports and academic camps, are open for registration. More information is available on the Future Stars website. According to Mees, based on the number of signups, “the [eSports] program will likely develop a waiting list.”

Co-founded by Charlie VanDercook, who was the original director in 1980, Future Stars prides itself on providing campers with specialized sports camps, STEAM Education programs (web design, coding, etc.), and many arts and entertainment options. From tennis to soccer to basketball to even circus arts, Future Stars camp offers a variety of programs to meet the interests of each individual.

“Our long-term goal is for our campers to develop confidence in themselves and the sport or the academic subject, to gain and improve on their skills and strategies, and to develop a passion, whatever that may be,” said Mees.

A typical day consists of skill development, tactics, and strategy in the morning, swimming and lunch during midday, followed by an afternoon session that centers on gameplay scenarios and scrimmages to better develop their competitive mindset.

Main image: Two girls at Future Stars Summer Camp play Minecraft.
Courtesy Future Stars Summer Camp