Community fundraising leads to launch of Newton esports program

This is the first sport I’ve ever tried out for.

Officer Kyle Lovan overheard a student say this as they walked out of the esports room in Newton High School. It was a gratifying moment. To him, this is what the club was supposed to be all about. The club was to offer students — especially those who don’t normally compete in traditional sports — a chance to participate.

And participate they did. Lovan estimated almost 80 students signed up for the club, which will have varsity and junior varsity teams competing in select video games aligned with the Iowa High School Esports Association. Several students attended a brief orientation last week to get to know the games and see the esports room.

“I expected maybe 20 at most as far as kids being interested in it, but the number was just overwhelming,” Lovan said. “So that’s awesome … To hear a student actually say they normally wouldn’t go out for any other sports but esports, that’s very satisfying and the reason I wanted to bring it here.”

Lovan, a school resource officer, spent months fundraising for the esports room, which is equipped with ten, fully loaded PC stations and matching red-and-black gaming chairs. The Cardinal decal is featured on every computer. Competitors now have everything they need to get started on their esports journeys.

Newton News previously reported that Lovan got the idea to start an esports club at the high school after touring his alma mater on a day off. He was shown the school’s esports room and learned about the gaming program. From then on, he launched a fundraising campaign to start a similar program in Newton.

The institutions that were pivotal in getting the esports room established are featured prominently on a plaque in the wall:

Jasper Community Foundation, Wallace Family Funeral Home, Medicap Pharmacy, Prairie Meadows, Mechdyne, Newton Community Education Foundation, Gregg Young of Newton, Performance Sign and the Newton Police Department. Their contributions helped make this happen.

While he is unfamiliar with the games, Lovan knows esports instills strong values — like communication and leadership — similar to that of traditional sports. Several of the games in the IAHSEA are team-focused and require everyone work together to achieve a victory.

In order to figure out the club’s interests and get a strong footing, Lovan said the club will be sitting out the fall season of IAHSEA games. Which leaves the winter season games of Smite, Overwatch and Rocket League open for practice, as well as the spring season games of Marvel Rivals, Mario Kart and Valorant.

Senior Zach Schwab is crossing his fingers there is enough interest in Overwatch — a team-based “hero shooter” game — to start a team in Newton. Prior to becoming a Newton Cardinal, he was a Hampton-Dumont-CAL Bulldog and he competed on the school’s esports team playing Overwatch.

For a team that had just made its debut in the 2A division, Hampton-Dumont-CAL gave a strong showing at state-level competitions and finished in second place. Schwab has also played at the collegiate level at Marshalltown Community College when he was just a junior at Newton High School.

“I’m really excited about it,” Schwab said. “It’s probably the thing I’ve been most excited for, to actually go and compete at the state level again — of course, if we make that. Competing the state level the year that I did was probably the funnest thing I’ve ever done to this point. There’s just nothing else like it.”

Schwab is hoping the esports club brings out the competitiveness of his peers. He is also thankful to Lovan for pushing forward with the club.

“He’s done very well in taking this to a high level of standards,” Schwab said.