Over last summer, the Shannon Center has undergone significant changes. The room that was once the campus bookstore and a testing center during the pandemic is now the home of SXU’s new esports program. The program’s director, Coach Lamar Daniels, was generous enough to give the Xavierite his thoughts on the program, his own experiences in athletics, and his thoughts on the future of esports.
Speaking on his college experiences, Coach Daniels recounted his time as a traditional athlete and getting into competitive gaming with Overwatch.
“I initially was a traditional student athlete. I was a track and field athlete at Washington and Venice university in my undergrad. From there I got accepted to grad school. I was doing an internship during then. Around that time, during my birthday, Overwatch came out.
It was my first introduction to online competitive gaming, and I immediately fell in love. I grew up with Call of Duty and Halo, but I never got to play that much since my mom wasn’t a fan. From there I got to grad school. After grad school, I knew I wanted to work in esports and college students. So I found a job that let me do both.”
Before taking the job at SXU, Coach Daniels was a prolific coach at Lourdes University in Ohio.
“Coaching at Lourdes was my first real full-time job, and my first real experience of being an adult. We had some really great times. We won around three conference championships. Our varsity Overwatch team made it to the week 16 national league last year.”
Coach Daniels also gave the Xavierite an idea of what experience students will be getting in the program.
“At the end of the day, I want students to have a good time whether they be attending this university or students from other schools that we’re bringing into the program. Being a student athlete is a unique experience that not alot of people get so I wanna make sure that anyone involved in any program I’m in gets a great experience.”
In terms of talented players, Coach Daniels is optimistic about this season’s lineup.
“There’s a good amount of talent in the Chicagoland area. There’s only one other varsity program in the area, but with a few other varsity-supported programs. So I think there’s a good opportunity to get some talent here.
There’s one really great Rocket League player. He goes by Toast. I’ll just say his nickname for now. He’s a local kid who went to Oak Lawn. He’s a very good talent. I’m really excited to see how the Rocket League team does since he’s such a skilled player.”
One of Coach Daniel’s goals for the program is to have consistent streams and broadcasts of the teams.
“ I feel like streaming is very important as it highlights the players. It showcases their abilities and helps them tell their stories. I always try to make sure that we stream as many games as possible. Sometimes we’ll have to make a decision when there are multiple games, but we’ll always be sure to stream.”
Coach Daniels’s background in traditional athletics like volleyball and track has a strong influence on his coaching style. To Coach Daniels, physical fitness is an important part of keeping a player’s mind sharp to play games.
“As I’ve grown up, I’ve come to believe that a healthy body is a healthy mind. I really think that when you’re able to get some exercise on a regular basis it refreshes the mind. When you come to practice, it gives you a renewed sense of self. There’s something about working out that refreshes your mind.”
The wide variety of games that the program covers will also be a challenge.
“I’ve coached volleyball, track, and some cheerleading tumbling. All of them are drastically different, and it’s the same in esports. We’ve got games like League of Legends and Valorant which are more team based and require more strategy. And we also have Smash which has a more individual, technical aspect that you need to coach. Each one is its own different entity.
If you’re good at one game doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be good at another game. Same thing goes for coaching. If i’m good at coaching one game, it doesn’t mean I’ll be good at coaching another one. Most of my background comes from Overwatch. But these games are all very different, and they’ll all have different seasons.”
One of the most important things in a game for Coach Daniels is whether or not the game has a strong collegiate scene to support student athletes.
“If there ends up being more of a collegiate scene around any game, then I’m always in favor of it. We gotta make sure that the students involved are supported and that they have a chance to compete.”
The newest esport that just came out is Valorant. And after a year of professional play, Riot has already made a collegiate scene. We’re also seeing it at the highschool level. A lot of kids are working in high school to compete at the professional level. Some kids may not have talent in traditional sports but have talent in esports. It can even help them compete for a school or earn a scholarship.”
It’s been exciting to see how much the esports program has grown in just a few short weeks, and we all have Coach Daniels to thank for it. With tryouts coming to close, it’ll be exciting to see what SXU’s esports teams accomplish.