My journey within the College of Charleston's Esport program has taken on a variety of paths. From starting the club alongside Afif Bizri to becoming the club's Rocket League manager to eventually being the president, I have done whatever the club needs to build it from the ground up.
Official Roles:
Strategic Development
RL Manager
Vice President
President
Strategic Development
"Strategic Development" was a role created to give me some freedom in developing the future of what the club would look like. I led initiatives in branding, promotion, social media, and community development.
What I found is that while I had a wide berth to make changes as I saw fit, I was relatively ineffective because our power structure was very... confused. It was the first time any of us ran a club and we learned a million lessons along the way.
My time as "strategic development" produced some good for the club such as a community focus, spotlight in a state wide newspaper, and a better relationship with our school administration, but overall it could have been used more effectively with power structure changes.
Rocket League Team Manager
While I was involved at the top of the CofC Esports power structure, I found my most fulfilling work toward the middle as a team manager. Since we are not a varsity program we don't have a guarantee on team quality or recruitment levels its hard to maintain a top level team from semester to semester.
We started the CofC Esports RL team based around myself (hah), Jackson, and our best player Noah. Our first semester we went 5-7 in the Tespa Open Ladder which led to us being able to find better players on campus.
Our best lineup performed very well in CSL making playoffs in their first season (losing narrowly to Ohio State 2-3 in the first round of playoffs) and smashed their second regular season (playoffs stunted by COVID). The highlight of my managing career was being invited to the Queen City RL Invitational by Esports Charlotte and placing top 16.
Our team was beyond excited to play at their first major LAN and it was a great way for our boys to bond and improve as both players and people.
Vice President
I was elected to the Vice President role last year and accomplished a lot during this time. We held more club meetings, joined Tespa as an official chapter, and made further inroads with our school's administration.
Our brightest achievement was our first big LAN (Beach Bro Brawl) which saw attendees from across the state compete in Super Smash Brothers Ultimate. We made a slight profit thanks to our strategic partner Fly Society and were able to use the positive momentum to create a deeper partnership with the Cougar Smash Club.
The club was growing in attendance despite a lot of seniors departing, and the school started to promote the club via its own newsletter and other areas.
President
My presidency started officially this January when the COVID pandemic was just becoming known to the world. Despite the pandemic we were able to grow the club and partner with the school's Campus rec department for tournaments during Spring break.
My time as president has seen the club officer format restructured twice to better suit the needs of the club, and to make sure the club survives after the current core of officers are long gone. We have worked to create protocols, best practices, and relationships that will ensure CofC Esports will exist and grow right alongside collegiate esports.
I have learned a lot during my four years at the College of Charleston, and working on the Esports Club has been the cherry on top of a great collegiate career. Whether its hosting events or recruiting new players, I have been extremely involved with the brand that is CofC and am extremely hopeful the school will look into esports as a varsity support in the future.
