Asbury Park High School presents first season of Esports

Garden State Esports President Chris Aviles and Vice President Regina Schaffer teamed up with principal Dr. Medina to bring the excitement of Esports to the students of Asbury Park High School.

First Season of Esports at Asbury Park High School

Throughout the 2024–2025 school year, Dr. Medina worked to make the dream of an Esports program possible. To start, he spent long hours setting up a full game room inside the newly improved media center. From there, Dr. Medina, Chris Aviles, and Regina Schaffer enlisted students to join the program. As a result, in the 2025–2026 school year, APHS students began competing with other schools in organized gaming competitions.

The Focus Games of the Season

Students competed in Marvel Rivals and Rocket League.

In Marvel Rivals, teams of six chose their favorite comic book characters and entered combat-style missions. Each team had to defeat the other through hand‑to‑hand combat or by completing the mission first.

Meanwhile, in Rocket League, students selected rocket‑powered cars and used physics and teamwork to score goals with a giant soccer ball.

Educational Value

Esports was not just about playing games. Instead, it encouraged critical thinking, writing, and teamwork.

• Critical thinking came into play as students built strategies for both Marvel Rivals and Rocket League. After each match, they revised and updated their plans to stay competitive. This required deep thinking, creativity, and determination to counter aggressive opponents.
• Writing became essential because students logged their strategies to track what worked and what failed.
• History connections also strengthened their learning. Students used real battle tactics to shape their in‑game strategies.

For example, they used Hannibal’s tactic of entrapment from The Battle of Cannae. The Blue Bishops circled their opponents in Marvel Rivals, just as Hannibal encircled the Romans, and earned a victory.

Phalanx Formation

Another tactic used by the Blue Bishops was the Phalanx formation, a square battlefront used by the Spartans at The Battle of Thermopylae, by Alexander the Great, and by the Macedonians at the Battle of Pydna.

In a creative twist, students applied this formation in Rocket League by forming a square with their cars around their opponents. They moved together to confuse the other team while trying to score.

Success of the Season and Garden State Esports Championship

For their first season, the Asbury Park High School Blue Bishops showed strong commitment and did not miss a single competition. Later in the season, they attended a major gaming event at Georgian Court University in Lakewood, New Jersey, on November 22, 2025. The experience was exciting and memorable for everyone involved.

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