ATLANTA — Royal Spence has dreams of playing professional basketball. The Maynard Jackson High School 10th-grade student, who grew up in the Mechanicsville neighborhood, has also played a lot of video games since he was young and is inspired by his little brother to strive for greatness.
"When I play games, I don't feel stressed. I just feel an escape," Spence said. "It's either death or jail, and I just don't want to be dead or in jail. It's a harsh reality. It's true. I've seen it with my own two eyes."
Spence found solace in the City of Atlanta's first eSports lab at the Thomasville Recreation Center, which opened in October. The city invested thousands in high-tech equipment and partnered with Gaming Cxmmunity Co. to take kids and teens to the next level in learning with tech. Atlanta Parks and Recreation Commissioner Justin Cutler said more than 55 people are participating in the program in its first year.
"Esports is one of the fastest growing industries in the nation, if not the world," Cutler said. "It's not just coming and sitting by yourself at a computer. It's about learning, building skills, and that's why these places are essential. They bring kids together, they build community."
Cutler said the eSports program also teaches kids to resolve conflict and manage disappointment. The program was created under the umbrella of Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens's Year of the Youth initiative, which aims to curb crime in the city and give youth other options outside of school to spend their time.
“In order to have a great city, we need to invest in our youngest people," Cutler said. "Part of his commitment is eSports, making sure our young people in Atlanta have access to the most innovative and up-to-date technology.”
Julian Fitzgerald, co-founder of Gaming Cxmmunity Co., said African-Americans represent about 2% of the gaming industry globally. He said the lab can help bridge the digital divide often seen in underserved communities.
"We focus on really increasing diversity within the tech industry, so we use interest-based curriculum, in this case gaming, to engage young people in different STEM and tech career fields," Fitzgerald said. “They do start off with a little bit of gameplay, but then the instruction itself incorporates everything from coaching and communication, which is one of the tenants of eSports, to casting, which is all about the technical skills that go into producing that content. It even includes entrepreneurship."
Amon Fleming, an eighth grader at Herman J. Russell West End Academy, said his older brother got him into eSports. While he has dreams of one day playing in the NFL, he said the eSports program at the Thomasville Rec Center has helped him hone the intangible traits necessary to mature into a good teammate.
"I just love being able to escape the real world, play games, interact with others even online," Fleming said. To me, it's a safe place."
Whether it's an escape for Amon Fleming or reaching greatness for Royal Spence, the button-mashing experience is more than just a game.
"I see myself in college somewhere, if it's not basketball or gaming," Spence said. "I've always got a backup plan. But I'm going to be great, though."