Playing video games isn’t just the empty calories of youthful fun anymore.

These days, professional competitive gamers can make millions of dollars. Nearly 200 U.S. colleges offer esports team scholarships, and a growing number of universities provide majors in video game design.

Two students discuss strategy.

So it’s no surprise the gaming club has been a hit among students at William E. Grady Career and Technical Education HS in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, since math teacher Peter Cozeolino started it five years ago. And now there’s even a competitive esports team.

“Not everybody is an athlete,” Cozeolino said, “but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be able to compete for the school.”

Jordan, a junior and one of the club’s members, is an athlete. As a freshman two years ago, he made the varsity baseball team. But he says he gets a similar thrill from competing in esports, where he is one of the captains of the Falcons.

“Just like in baseball, you have to learn to work with people as a team in esports,” Jordan said.

Club members gather in the new esports room at Grady.

On a typical day, the gamers play Valorant, a free, PC-based multiplayer game featuring tactical team play, and Smash Bros. by Nintendo. The team meets after school every Tuesday, and the club meets for a combined recreational and team session after school every Thursday.

Finding competition isn’t easy; there is no formal New York City public school league for esports. The Falcons compete in tournaments against online teams from across the country or set up scrimmages.

The program got a big boost in November 2021 when the ribbon was cut on Grady’s esports gaming room, a $150,000 project engineered by Assistant Principal Todd Gerber. The state-of-the-art room has 21 high-end gaming PCs, two Xbox One Series S systems and two Nintendo Switch consoles, plus gaming chairs and couches.

A student gets in a practice session playing the game Valorant.

“When the esports room first opened, kids were lined up down the hall,” Grady HS Chapter Leader Guido Caligara said. “It’s their room and they respect that and appreciate everything about it.”

But there have been challenges. For starters, the city Department of Education’s technology in schools blocks some of the programs, limiting what can be accomplished. Cozeolino’s efforts to get those blocks lifted have led to frustration and little progress.

“The kids have had to do some of the scrimmages from their homes because of that,” Cozeolino said.

Still, that hurdle hasn’t tempered the excitement — or the learning.

“Sometimes in the tournaments, it’s clear our skill level is not as good as some of these other teams,” said Shehroz, a senior and the club president. “But it’s still fun, and when we did win, it felt like a major success.”