Competitive gaming has come to Lakeland with the help of a couple of surprising faculty members.

The esports team meets Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. The main games that students are going to be competing in are “Call of Duty,” “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” and “League of Legends.”

The founders of the club are Chief Flight Instructor Steven Vaught and student success assistant Robin Mock. The idea of an esports club was proposed by an anonymous student several months ago. Vaught decided to take on the challenge of becoming the club’s founder. The Student Success & Engagement Office helped him along the way.

Vaught is excited to see esports come to Lakeland and is ready to help the team succeed. “Esports is a rapidly growing community, and I’d like to see Lakeland at the forefront of competitive gaming,” he said.

Vaught has moderate experience in most video games. He will be at practice sessions to offer the team advice on effective communication. Mock is already taking steps to ensure that students are geared up and ready to play as a team. She is having “League of Legends” installed on the computers in Laun and has purchased headphones so students can communicate effectively.

Students who are interested in joining should email Mock at [email protected].