Arlington has an esports arena, and more places around the country are doubling down on gaming. That includes schools.
Universities are forming teams, and now are looking to middle and high schools to deliver a crop of players not just to support theirs but a new emerging industry in gaming.
For years athletics has been something fun for kids --- but opened doors for students to pay for college. Nowadays there's a new path.
Dallas ISD has created an esports division, where kids come and play and learn how to battle each other in video games, and create pathways to college.
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"Esports can take you all the way to a scholarship for colleges, it was not just let's go have fun and play. How can we bring esports to benefit students," said Louigina Vasquez, a teacher in the district.
There are college-level teams in esports which more universities are getting into so Dallas ISD is holding camps during the summer, competitions year round and cultivating players to help create a pathway to college to game professionally.
"I wanna be one of the very best," said a rising 5th grader we had trouble pulling away from his computer.
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Mateo Benitez Ponce is going into the 5th grade and just like boys dream of playing professional ball he dreams of being a professional player, but knows coding, programming and designing esports could be a career, but says it prepares you for anything.
"We also teach sportsmanship, if someone made it to the semifinals and they lose, they're going to be frustrated they still have to show sportsmanship," he said.
And so they play, do what they love, learn everything from exercises to keep their fingers limber to how to work together as a team.
It's letting the kids take something they love, and use it as a springboard to open doors for the future.
