<\/p>\n
A line of desks sat against the wall of Bellmore JFK\u2019s General Interest room. From left to right there was a signature video game console, from the Atari 2600 to the Nintendo 64 to the Game Boy.<\/p>\n
Above those desks was a poster, reading, \u201cBellmore-Merrick Esports.\u201d And just like the classic devices underneath it, it too represented a significant shift as casual gaming after school became competitive gaming inside John F. Kennedy High School.<\/p>\n
The Bellmore-Merrick Esports program was born during the 2019-20 school year as the COVID-19 pandemic crippled sports and social events alike. David Prince, the district wide mathematics chairperson, wanted to offer students an outlet to socialize and compete during a period without much of either.<\/p>\n
\u201c[There was] a lot of skepticism,\u201d said Prince, the Bellmore-Merrick Esports founder.\u00a0\u201cVideo games were thought of as solitary, like, what is it adding to the school community?\u201d<\/p>\n
But once students heard about it, Prince said there was an \u201centhusiastic reaction.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think most importantly, Esports attract a demographic of kids that are underserved by the school,\u201d Prince said. \u201cWe have a lot of [English as new language] students that come, a lot of students with accommodations and a lot of students on the spectrum.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are students where Esports are their only club. If it wasn\u2019t for Esports, they wouldn\u2019t have that connection to the school community.\u201d<\/p>\n
What began with a single League of Legends team with around 10 kids across the whole district \u2014 including Calhoun, Mepham and neighboring middle schools \u2014 has blossomed to nearly 200 total participants, with pop-ins adding to that total. Bellmore JFK then joined the High School Esports League, where it competed with schools in the Northeast in a regular season, playoff and championship format.<\/p>\n
If that sounds like a varsity sport, that\u2019s exactly how Prince views it.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s grown incredibly. I used to show them a picture of a high school football team from 1910,\u201d Prince said. \u201cAt some point people were like, \u2018Why are you playing football in high school? What does this have to do with school?\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cNow you can\u2019t imagine school without football, and I think in 10, 20, 50 years, Esports is going to be part of the fabric of high school life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Esports coach James Alford, who hosted Esports tournaments at Binghamton of around 90 people, also pointed to the growth on the college level.<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a kid who did Esports for four years. He just graduated and immediately emailed me in September [with a picture of St. John\u2019s Esports lab] saying, \u2018I wish we had this,\u2019 \u201d Alford said. \u201cOnce that ripples down, there are scholarships and Esports teams. I think recognition is going to be a lot like any other sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
Educators James Alford, left, and David Prince hold their favorite video game consoles as they host an\u00a0Esports Tournament on Jan. 29, 2026 in Bellmore. Credit: Emma Rose Milligan<\/p>\n
A sport-like feel certainly encompassed the Bellmore JFK Super Smash Bros tournament on Jan. 29. Contestants shook hands before and after their matches. Smiles grew wider as in-game advantages were had; cheers followed from onlooking club members after a climactic finish.<\/p>\n
In a double-elimination bracket \u2014\u00a0three lives per game in a best-of-three format \u2014 junior August Soontarodon took first place with his main character, King K. Rool, against senior Conor McMillan\u2019s Pyra\/Mythra.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was shocking, I\u2019ll be honest,\u201d Soontarodon said with a laugh.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s very stressful, but I\u2019m happy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soontarodon, McMillan and Jacob Moont\u00a0\u2014 who finished first, second and third\u00a0\u2014\u00a0plus the rest of the top eight finishers from Bellmore JFK will host March\u2019s district-wide tournament featuring the top eight performers from Calhoun and Mepham. A fourth school may be included as well to crown a Nassau champion.<\/p>\n
Moont, a senior, uses Lil Mac. Asking him why showed a bit of the camaraderie born from a group setting.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s the worst character in the game, so I decided to main him,\u201d Mount said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause he plays the worst character so well, it makes it worse when you lose [to him],\u201d McMillan added.<\/p>\n
McMillan noted the value of having a space where like-minds can meet and compete in Esports in person, holding more value than a Discord conversation can.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s a cool thing. It\u2019s something we do as a hobby, and for a lot of hobbies you don\u2019t have a source to actually do something fun in a big group,\u201d McMillan said. \u201cIt\u2019s a good environment for us to play together.\u201d<\/p>\n
August Soontarodom (Bellmore JFK) places first, Conor McMillan (Bellmore JFK) finishes\u00a0second and Jacob Moont\u00a0(Bellmore JFK) places third during the Super Smash Bros. Esports tournament at JFK High School in Bellmore. Credit: Emma Rose Milligan<\/p>\n
The program currently holds monthly \u201copen plays.\u201d Alford, who hosted Esports tournaments of nearly 100 people during his time at Binghamton, said the program plans to join PlayVs in the coming seasons.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s one of the preeminent high school Esports organizers, allowing them to potentially expand upon the games the program already specializes in: League of Legends, Rocket League, Super Smash Bros, Overwatch, Valorant and Chess. All the options amid a budding Esports program leads students like Soontarodon to embrace the challenge.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt allows me to join the competitive community,\u201d Soontarodon said. \u201cI wasn\u2019t really able to play competitively at all before I joined the Mario Kart Deluxe team, and we did this high school tournament in the fall and the spring.\u201d<\/p>\n
Soontarodon, with his trusty Rowlet Pok\u00e9mon in his shirt pocket, held a first-place trophy in the shape of a Nintendo Switch at the conclusion of the event. At his side stood McMillan and Moont, all as teammates in the end.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust playing with your friends,”\u00a0McMillan said, “you can be better than you think you could be.”<\/p>\n