Dozens of Baldwinsville students are plugged in to a new team.

Esports is one of the fastest growing activities at school, and it’s the perfect way to stay connected while social distancing.

When the clicking accelerated, it was an intense moment for Caleb Eide in his League of Legends match. Eide is part of Baldwinsville’s varsity team.

“Not only am I happy about playing with my friends, but I’m also happy about being able to create esports and having other kids who can’t usually, who don’t do physical sports, they can play as a team and they can have fun as a team," said Eide. "And they can do something for the school rather than not being able to do anything.”

Lindsay Cesari, a librarian at Durgee Junior High, is the coach. She registers the teams and troubleshoots technical difficulties, but she said the program is mostly student led.

“It’s more than critiquing or giving suggestions on game play. It’s more like teaching them how to be good leaders and teaching them work together as a team and develop communication,” said Cesari.

Like many teenagers, Eide plays League of Legends as much as possible. While winning is fun, he has other motivations for joining a team.

“There's only a certain level you can get to playing casually and I also want to go to college for this, so I thought playing this a lot more competitively would get me a lot better — and playing with my friends,” said Eide.  

Eventually it’s time to leave school and go home, but the day of gaming isn’t over. Eide takes a time out to get a ride home where he’ll continue to socialize with friends, while staying socially distant.