In the News

The nonprofit Garden State Esports says students can build life and workplace skills through gaming.

Easterseals New Jersey, in partnership with Garden State Esports, will host Level Up: A Unified Gaming Night on Thursday, April 23, from 6:00–9:00 PM at Easterseals New Jersey’s facility in North Brunswick.

A standout player and leader, Kraja served as captain of the Old Bridge High School Smash team, helping lead his team to an impressive combined regular and postseason record of 29-10. His individual accomplishments include a Top 4 finish at the Garden State Esports (GSE) 128-player Smash Tournament and a Top 8 finish in the OBHS Team Singles Tournament in Spring 2025. He also participated in the GSE College Combine and posted a 2-2 record at Supernova, including a notable win over a top competitor.

Researchers and clinicians are working to prevent burnout, optimize performance, and safeguard the mental health of players

New Jersey teens are competing for $30,000 scholarships in the Garden State Esports league — the largest junior esports league in the United States, featuring games like Valorant, Rocket League, and more.

Brookdale Community College’s award-winning Esports Arena was buzzing with energy on February 7 as it hosted the nation’s first College Esports Recruitment Combine, presented by Garden State Esports (GSE).

Behind every high-energy match is a team of skilled professionals managing cameras, editing replays, mixing sound, producing graphics and keeping broadcasts running smoothly. This is where the real magic and the real career potential lives.

Passionate about esports, Kvidahl recognizes its impact on students. “Scholastic esports are about far more than playing video games; they open the door to real-world career pathways and create a space for students who may not otherwise participate in traditional team activities.

MENDHAM, NJ — It’s been years since the days of children running to the arcade after school gets out. Now, students are playing video games in school, competitively, including at Mendham Middle School.

NEWARK, N.J. – The Newark School of Data Science & Information Technology (NSDSIT) has made Newark Public Schools history. This weekend at the Garden State Esports (GSE) League Championships at Georgian Court University, the NSDSIT Circuits captured the 2025 Garden State Esports Rocket League State Championship for Group 1 and Group 2, marking the first Esports state title in both the school’s and the district’s history.

Chris Aviles made esports mainstream in New Jersey schools, uplifting students across the state.

Nintendo of America is partnering with the Interstate Scholastic Esports Alliance (ISEA) to make gaming competitions more social, accessible, and rewarding.

Garden State Esports and Rutgers University Forge Statewide Partnership to Transform Education and Workforce Development Through Esports

Video gamers are used to playing in the shadow of other high school sports, but that is changing in high schools across the country. Hopatcong High School’s esports program is not only leading the way, it is dominating the field.  In March, Hopatcong High School’s esports team won a state championship for the third straight year at the Garden State Esports Winter Championship event, held at Georgian Court University. 

Seton Hall University Esports proudly announces the addition of three standout scholarship recruits from Garden State Esports (GSE), the nation’s largest scholastic esports organization. Founded by educators in 2020, GSE has rapidly expanded opportunities for high school gamers across New Jersey, helping them translate their passion for competitive play into pathways for higher education and future careers.

The first moments walking into the Garden State Esports’ tornament. The bustling crowd, the loud cheering and excitement of video games made it an exciting atmosphere.

Galloway, N.J. — The Stockton University esports team will compete for Garden State Esports (GSE) Collegiate Circuit titles after a dominating performance Dec. 10 at an in-person competition on campus. The Ospreys’ Rocket League team defeated Camden County College and Rowan University, and the Super Smash Bros. team beat Camden County College and Atlantic Cape Community College. With the victories, both teams won the GSE South Conference and advanced to the Garden State Esports Collegiate Cup finals on Feb. 22 at ACX1 Studios in Atlantic City.

Cherry Hill East’s Valorant and Valkyrie Valorant e-sport teams went undefeated this year as they won the State Finals at Stockton University on May 18 as the end to their season playing in the Garden State Esports league. This is the second year that the Valorant team took home the title of state champion.

I first started trying to get an esports program at my school in 2011. At the time, there was a lot of resistance around the misconception that violent video games make violent kids, despite all the evidence to the contrary. Another common roadblock I faced was the idea that video games make young people antisocial. That’s not true, either. Kids love socializing through video games.

BARNEGAT – The local governing body honored two local school district esports teams earlier this month for their impressive victories at the Garden State Esports Fall State Championships held at St. Elizabeth University. The Bengals returned home with not one but two state titles, marking a significant achievement for the program.

money they received from the state in Stabilization Aid. S2 Districts were able to apply for Stabilization Aid to help offset the reduction in State Aid due to the S2 Legislation. During the 22-23 School year, The Township of Ocean School District applied for $2,378,950 in Stabilization Aid and received an award of $1,269,450. Approximately $100,000 of this award was allocated for the purpose of the Esports Lab.

Once teammate Patrick Eby was defeated for the last time and disconnected his controller from the console on April 1, Dean Donato shook his head a little. “To win the match, I had to take six stalks and these guys were very good,” said the mild-mannered and smiling Stafford Intermediate School student, part of a four-man crew competing in the...

Michael Coolican was feeling the pressure as Hopatcong High School's esports team prepared for the Garden State Esports championships on Saturday. The Chiefs were the top seed in Knockout City, a dodgeball-like video game.

When Laura Shim started spending a lot of time online playing the video game Valorant, her parents weren't exactly thrilled. The senior from Northern Valley Regional High School at Old Tappan had to be persuasive...

Egg Harbor Township middle school esports team heading to state finals

Adults who played popular video games during the 1980s and 1990s may remember some of the iconic characters they used to accomplish the objectives. Pac-Man, Mario, Zelda, Sonic – they were the ones too legit to quit. Surprisingly, they’re all still around. But for Patrick Eby, Parker Wilkinson and Liam MacNaughton, they’re not the go-to bunch. Instead, the three Stafford...

UNION, NJ – For the first time ever, students from Burnet and Kawameeh Middle Schools and Union High School participated in the Garden State ESports (GSE) Winter 2023 Season this winter, and all three schools earned a playoff spot in at least one game. This season was GSE’s most significant so far with over 2,700 students representing over 160 schools across, and outside, the state, said Eric Churus, ESports Coach and Computer/Technology teacher at Burnet Middle School. Students competed in Rocket League Snowday, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate, Knockout City, and Overwatch 2 over a five to eight week season. This included the debut of the Union High School Unified Rocket League team.

CRANFORD, NJ - Members of Cranford High School's esports team welcomed the district's Senior Citizen Advisory Committee to a lunch chat at CHS to talk about the new program. Esports started at CHS last spring, with Assistant Superintendent Brian Heineman, Ed.D., as one of the driving forces behind the program. Since then, the club has grown in popularity and skill level.

After a year stuck at home, many have a new appreciation for gaming and esports — and colleges in New Jersey are taking notice of the competitive side of the video game industry. Kean University plans to open a new 2,612 square-foot esports arena this fall. “It’s great to have this positive transition coming out of the pandemic,” said Kelly Williams, Kean University’s director of athletics.

Galloway, N.J. — Stockton University is offering college credit to Middle Township High School (MTHS) students interested in computer gaming through a new agreement. The new dual credit offering, Introduction to Esports, introduces students to the history, development and current state of esports. Offered through Stockton’s School of Business, the course discusses the interconnectedness of esports with traditional hospitality centers, identifies the basic operational aspects of live esports tournaments and reviews career opportunities in the esports and hospitality industry.

Shawnee High School registered its first eSports program victory on Sept. 28 with a 4-3 win over Middletown North, the team’s first week of official action. The victory came in Super Smash Bros., one of three games the approximately 25 co-ed team members play on a weekly basis against other schools in the state. According to Garden State Esports, the game’s official organization, matches take place weekly, with Rocket League being the designated game on each Tuesday. Super Smash Bros is played on Wednesday and League of Legends on Thursday.

According to emails provided to The Washington Post, PlayVS emailed at least five statewide nonprofit esports organizations in January requesting the associations cease school-versus-school competitions for certain games because PlayVS has an “official/exclusive” licensing agreement with both Nintendo and Activision Blizzard. The claim of exclusivity, however, is inaccurate according to the two publishing companies.

Barnegat High School recently honored athletes with varsity letters, which for some students there serve as a memento of a glorious, undefeated run from a once-underfunded program that went from training on ramshackle equipment to being crowned state champions … along with all the other familiar characteristics of an underdog sports narrative.

The college’s ‘Dragon Hydras’ and ‘Drakes’ esports teams took part in a live-stream event in partnership with the British Esports Association, as part of the World Esports Day charitable event. The Llandrillo Computing students faced-off against two different schools from the Garden State Esports League, New Jersey - Centre School and Barnegat High School - live on Twitch, winning both of the tightly-fought matches! They played two of the biggest esports titles during their online battles: Overwatch and Valorant. There was one British caster (gaming term for a commentator in a live event) and one US caster for each show match in the event.

While many bemoaned activities that required extra computer time during the pandemic, some educators see great value in the right kind of screen time. They are even proponents of more screen time during school hours, adding lessons about digital citizenship, social-emotional wellness, bullying, harassment, sexism, racism, bystander intervention, STEM, coding, video editing, communication, teamwork, and careers of the future, all in one. In a word, esports.

UNION, NJ – With a perfect season, Esports program participants from Burnet Middle School are headed into 'battle' at the final Rocket League tournament on Wednesday....and all of Union is invited to watch and cheer them on. The team, called the BMS Barbarians, went into the playoffs with a 9-0 record. Heading into the finals, the Barbarians have a perfect 12-0 record. Their opponent, the Thorne Middle School Lions from Middletown, also have a 12-0 record.

Esports builds equity by reaching underserved students, strengthens the STEM pipeline, and can be launched without a big budget — GSE founder Chris Aviles explains how.

When asked about his title at Knollwood Middle School, Chris Aviles humbly responds: “Teacher.” There’s no denying it. It’s even there on his LinkedIn profile. But, after a bit of prying, Aviles says … “21st Century Skills, Technology, and Innovation Coordinator.” Yet, he is so much more.

Over 450 million people around the world are expected to watch esports in 2019, and global revenues are expected to exceed $1 billion.

New Jersey Middle School Esports Team Is 1st of Its Kind