Owen Gerrish/FSJournalism
Free State freshman Brayden Jorgensen, left, celebrates a victory by fist bumping a friend after playing a game during esports practice at Free State High School.
Starting this year, students at Free State High School had the opportunity to join an esports team, competing in Rocket League, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The season wrapped up with a state championship in January, and Free State’s Rocket League team finished 30, Smash Bros. placed 36 and Mario Kart 40.
The team began practicing after the Lawrence school board unanimously voted in September 2025 to implement esports in middle and high schools.
Free State High School’s team competed in its first season this winter, and players began to grow accustomed to playing some of their favorite games with a team rather than alone or entirely online.
As with other high school sports, esports players practice as a team to prepare for competitions. Also like those other sports, Esports teams must provide equipment for the players to use in practice and in competitions. The Lawrence Times reports that the district expects to spend up to $66,000 on equipment and games within the first three years of the sport. This includes the team’s Nintendo Switches, desktop set ups and additional consoles.
Unlike other sports sanctioned by KSHSAA in recent years such as girls wrestling, or the girls flag football which will have its inaugural season next school year, esports players did not have the same avenues to compete locally in their sport.
The Free State students who joined the esports team not only had the daunting task of joining a new activity, but also joining an activity which was fairly unfamiliar to them. Many of these students were not exactly sure what all was involved in an esports competition, let alone the team practices for esports.
“I was afraid to just stop by the room before I actually joined,” said sophomore Alex Gonzales. “But after I came in and started playing a little bit, it was rather chill. There’s not anything to be afraid of. I became rather excited to come every single day for practice.”
When Gonzales first showed up, he found a welcoming environment filled with other students who shared his same passion for gaming. Gonzales quickly went from being anxious to being eager to attend each practice.
Although the Legend of Zelda franchise is his favorite series of games to play on his own time, Gonzales put in the work to sharpen his Mario Kart skills for the season. Free State’s esports team assigns team members to a different squad for each of the three games played in competition. Gonzales said he was proud to be a member of the Mario Kart 8 Deluxe team.
The team trains after school each day, but practices look a little different from typical sports. Rather than maintaining a regimented practice structure, with players rotating around to different drills and simulation of game action, the esports teams are just always competing in real game action. They just pick up the controllers and practice playing the game just as they will during the competitions.
But the biggest contrast might actually be in the tone of these competitions during practice. Sophomore Corbin Thompson notes that these practice sessions often feel much more like hang sessions.
“We just hang out and play video games and talk to each other,” said Thompson, who competes in Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Firebirds.
In the same way that many athletes from other sports spend their youth immersed in those activities, Thompson grew up surrounded by video games. Thompson’s dad was an avid gamer himself. Before Thompson ever even picked up the sticks, his dad’s passion for video games provided Thompson a familiarity with gaming culture. Now, Thompson enjoys having a space to game competitively and enjoys bonding with the rest of the Smash Bros. Ultimate team.
“The games are so much fun,” Thompson said. “I love practicing every day, and I just look forward to this so much.”
Free State esports head coach Josh Hart stepped into his job with a high level of excitement. But despite being a lifelong gamer, Hart didn’t know exactly how to approach his new role.
“It was kind of learn as we go,” said Hart. “There were a lot of things I would like to do better and really treat it more as a sport and do some things that aren’t fun but help us get better.”
In the future, Hart hopes that the team will have greater access to player stats as other sports do, as the website for them is currently outdated.
“I’d love Kansas to take all of that in-house, which would also lead to more balanced schedules and divisions,” Hart said.
Free State concluded its first season of esports with eight wins overall and 10 losses. They placed 30th for Rocket League, 36th for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and 40th for Mario Kart 8. Despite finishing below .500 and finishing a sizable distance away from landing in the coveted top eight spots required to compete at state, the team views this as a great start for local esports competition and look forward to trying to build upon their work heading into next year.
For Free State’s crosstown rival, Lawrence High finished 12th in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and 16th in Mario Kart 8. The Lions ended up sitting at 49th in the Rocket League standings.
