Creating Model Citizens through Collaborative Esports

The recent Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo serve as a reminder of the important tie that sports have to society. Despite global conflict, a pandemic, and numerous other barriers, athletes of all nationalities, beliefs, and walks of life come together in the name of competition. It only takes a few minutes of browsing through social media, streaming platforms, or news outlets to see how important the stories of sport are to our lives.?

From a developmental perspective, participation in group competition is one of the best things a growing child can experience. Not only does it provide a great forum for technical skill development, but sports are also a great way for kids to learn the social skills they’ll need to succeed later in life. From house league baseball, basketball, or hockey to the burgeoning esports space, there are plenty of options for creating model citizens through collaborative sports.?

The esports market, in particular, is proving to be a popular forum for competitive experiences amongst the younger generation.??

How Esports Leagues Can Help Create the Next Generation of Model Citizens

The enormous amounts of capital that we see flowing into the esports space are not only driven by participation but viewership as well. There are even high-profile gamers that regularly draw more views than high-profile NBA and NFL stars. Professional athletes have always been used as role models to guide the coming generations — it seems increasingly necessary for esports athletes to join that group as well.?

Given the inexorable ties between esports and online communication via platforms like Twitch and Youtube, gaming leagues are also influential in determining how youth learn to interact with each other online. Cyberbullying and digital harassment are unfortunately still a common occurrence in the esports space but, as gamers, developers, and industry stakeholders continue to push for change, there’s lots of optimism that these leagues can help mold the next generation of model citizens.?

By joining a children’s esports league, children will help develop skills in online leadership, inclusivity, and team collaboration.?

Building Online Leadership Skills

Being an effective leader when dealing with peers is already a challenging experience. Physical sports are often touted as a great way for developing these skills because of the collective experiences between teammates as they work together to overcome adversity. While this is certainly true, it’s by no means constrained exclusively to this realm.?

In fact, with the increasing digital transformation occurring in the private and public sectors (especially in the wake of the pandemic), being able to guide others through virtual means is more important than ever. Esports leagues with youth coaching offer children the opportunity to dip their toes into the world of online leadership in a structured, safe environment.?

Improving Diversity and Inclusion in Gaming

Despite recent initiatives to support female, minority, and other gamers who experience harassment, there is still lots of work to do in the esports industry from a diversity, equity, and inclusion perspective. Initiatives like EA’s Positive Play Charter are a step in the right direction and children’s esports leagues can build off these guidelines to create a more positive, inclusive generation of developing gamers.?

It’s been established that early intervention is key when it comes to preventing bullying and other toxic behaviors and similar tactics are often applied to reduce online versions of this behavior. Unsupervised online experiences are the starting point of many toxic interactions between growing kids, and youth coaching in esports development is a perfect format to correct these behaviors. This will help reduce a significant barrier to girls, BIPOC youth, and other children that are often discriminated against in online spaces.?

Collaboration and Team-Building

As participants progress through the ranks of children’s esports leagues, not only are they building skills, but they also learn how to conduct themselves properly when interacting with others in the digital world. These skills are critical to success in a society that is increasingly adopting remote work and online communication platforms in the professional and personal realms.?

Networking, communication, organization, and soft skills are still important to the success of digital teams, sometimes even more so than in-person interactions. Children’s esports leagues provide youth with a low-stakes opportunity to learn the ins and outs of asynchronous and synchronous communication.?

Each game requires a new mix of communication tactics and cadences that can transfer to other domains of life. For example, League of Legends programs rely on pings and chat boxes, while Rocket League leagues require kids to interact with each other verbally in real-time. As children grow and hone these skill sets, noticeable improvements often appear in other domains of life.

If you want to learn more about how youth coaching in esports leagues can help develop your child, student, or community youth into model citizens who are prepared for a digital future, Reach out to the experts at Vanta Leagues today!