Our Esports coach, Coach White, was honored in a recent article by PlayVS as a role model for women in leadership roles in esports.

Coach White said, “I was proud to be honored by PlayVS. There is already not a lot of women in the world of esports, so to be chosen to be interviewed by such a big voice in that esports world about my experience as a woman made me feel awesome but also responsible for speaking intentionally about the need for recognition and inclusion for women in this industry.”

PlayVS emphasized Coach White’s empowerment as a successful female Esports coach and the significant impact it has on the stigma that surrounds female competitive gamers. They take her attitude toward the stigma as a strength and encourage the viewer to do the same. Along with this, they praised her for her accomplishments, as she has “led the Bob Jones High School Rocket League team to victory for three consecutive years in a row in the PlayVS Alabama state championships.”

Bob Jones has better female participation than many other schools. Coach White estimated the numbers. “I would say the ratio of males to females would be roughly around 1:20. Bob Jones is lucky this season; we have 8 girls in our program of 64 students. That is 1:8.”

There are incentives to recruit more female participation in place, but that alone is not enough. “PlayVS offers a no-fee incentive to full female teams in high school esports. I feel like that is a nice start, but I do think that simply seeing female faces being recognized and showcased for their part in esports would help break down the wall of the “video games are for boys” stigma.  I know I try to talk to as many females about esports as I can. During our Patriot Paths for games, I make a point to start conversations with the females in the room about if they are interested in joining the program and playing competitively. ”

Coach White has created an environment for people who play games to collaborate, bond, and form friendships amongst team members. She is not only leading our esports here at Bob Jones, but she is also being recognized as a leader in the field of high school Esports.