Darlington County Schools Daredivils’ eSports program launches districtwide
The Darlington County School District’s Daredevils eSports Team. PICTURED HERE (Back row left to right): Bobby Hall, Enrique Morales-Rojas, Ty’Darius Monroe, Noah Caffee, Caleb DeWitt. (Front row left to right): Cameron Woodberry, Liam Thompson, Cameron Grantham, McKinnon (Blaze) Hicks, Aden O’Bannon. Not pictured: Jordan Holliman, Hunter Dennis. Rocket League Coach: Drake Deal. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
Students in the Darlington County School District have an exciting opportunity to compete as a team through the district’s new eSports program. The program, deemed the Darlington Daredevils, launched earlier this semester and has paved the way for expansion in the fall.
Housed inside the district’s Annex facility in downtown Darlington, the inaugural season for the Daredevils features 12 high school students from across the district. The students compete in two titles – Rocket League and Valorant – against teams from up and down the eastern seaboard.
The league is sanctioned by the High School Esports League (HSEL), which was founded in 2012 and boasts the longest-running competitive gaming organization for high school students, according to its website. The league aims to harness “students’ passion for video games through organized competition and academics, resulting in better engagement, better GPAs, and better attendance.”
DCSD launched the Daredevils this season with juniors and seniors with plans to expand those opportunities to all high school grade levels in the fall. Currently, the 12 eSports athletes comprise three teams across the two games. Next season, the goal is six total teams across three different games.
Daniel Frump is the Daredevil’s head coach, while Drake Deal assists as the Rocket League coach. Matches are played on Wednesday and Thursday evenings against teams from the HSEL’s East Region: Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and New York. More than 330 teams compete in the HSEL nationwide.
The DCSD Daredevils roster includes students from Darlington High School (DHS), Hartsville High School (HHS), Lamar High School (LHS), and Mayo High School for Math, Science, and Technology (MHS):
·Hunter Dennis, HHS
·Caleb Dewitt, DHS
·Bobby Hall, HHS
·McKinnon “Blaze” Hicks, DHS
·Ty’Darius Monroe, DHS
·Jordan Holliman, MHS
·Cameron Woodbury, HHS
·Noah Caffee, HHS
·Cameron Grantham, HHS
·Enrique Morales-Rojas, LHS
·Aden O’Bannon, HHS
·Liam Thompson, HHS
