SAN ANTONIO - St. Mary's University Esports head coach,
Kaitlin Teniente has announced the dates for summer tryouts for anyone interested in joining the team for their inaugural season in the fall of 2020. In order to become a student-athlete on the esports team, you must be a current full-time undergraduate or graduate student in academic good standing. Incoming freshmen and transfer students may try out once they've registered and are considered full-time students for the upcoming semester. Tryouts will be held once each semester and on an as-needed basis throughout the year.
Registration for esports tryouts does not guarantee:
- You will be contacted by the coaches to participate in tryouts.
- A place on the esports team.
- Creation of an esports team for any specific game.
Summer tryouts will take place exclusively online, using the official St. Mary's Esports Discord server. Fall and spring tryouts will be conducted in the esports arena located on the 2nd floor of the University Center.
Esports Tryout Information
Tryout Registration:
https://bit.ly/STMU-Tryouts
Esports Discord Server:
https://discord.com/invite/92xeJgS
Tryout Schedule - Summer 2020
Game: Overwatch (PC)
Deadline to Register: Friday May 29th at 11:59PM CT
Online Tryout: Monday, June 1st through Saturday, June 6th
Game: League of Legends
Deadline to Register: Friday June 12th at 11:59PM CT
Online Tryout: Monday, June 15th through Saturday, June 20th
Game: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO)
Deadline to Register: Friday June 26th at 11:59PM CT
Online Tryout: Monday, June 29th through Friday, July 3rd
The esports coaches do not expect to complete the esports team rosters until the completion of fall tryouts.
Tryout Overview
In order to become a student athlete on the esports team, you must be a current full-time undergraduate or graduate student in academic good standing. Incoming freshmen and transfer students may try out once they've registered and are considered full-time students for the upcoming semester. Tryouts will be held once each semester and on an as-needed basis throughout the year.
The esports coaches determine which esports teams will be created, and which competitions those teams will participate in on a case-by-case basis each year.
Criteria for Creating an Esports Team
- Availability of active tournaments and collegiate esports league to participate in
- Percentage of current students interested in a video game
- Number of prospective students interested in a video game
- The skill levels of individual students
- The number of students required to create a complete competitive team
- ESRB Rating
Criteria for Determining League Participation
- Duration of a college league and the video game competitions offered
- Number of participating colleges and universities and the total team count
- Match forfeit rates within a league
- Entry fees
- Total scholarship prize pool offered
Tryout Requirement Checklist
In order to participate in tryouts, you must be able to check off all the following criteria:
1. You are a current St. Mary's full-time student in good academic standing
2. You own the game you're trying out for or the game is "free to play", downloaded on your PC or console, and updated with the latest version of the game.
3. Your in-game account is in good standing (your account is not banned, not in a "low-priority" match queue, etc)
4. Your in-game account name is not offensive and/or misleading
5. You can fulfill the ranked requirements for your respective game, if a ranked ladder exists
6. You have time on weekdays and weekends to participate in tryouts. The tryout time commitment will mimic the time commitment expected during the regular season
Exceptions can be made for incoming freshmen who have not yet completed any semester hours. Tryouts held in the spring time will typically exclude graduating seniors, unless they'll be returning to St. Mary's as a graduate student.
Complete Tryout Process
1. Fill out the Tryout Registration form: https://bit.ly/STMU-Tryouts
2. If you meet the tryout requirements, an email will be sent to you from the esports coaching team detailing your schedule, your team assignments, and any other details specific to you.
3. Tryout matches and communication between you and your tryout teammates will be organized through the St. Mary's Esports Discord. Failure to join the Discord in a timely manner will reflect poorly on you.
4. After each tryout match, you will be asked to complete a feedback form about your teammates. Failure to complete the form will reflect poorly on you.
5. After the conclusion of your tryout period, coaches will email the players who have been selected for a team and email all tryout participants constructive feedback they received from the feedback forms.
What to Expect from Tryouts
- Losses will not be held against you, tryouts will be aimed at testing your ability to fit into different team compositions, with different players, at various skill levels.
- Tryout time commitment is roughly the same time commitment you will be expected to make on the team. If you feel like you're struggling to make time for tryouts you probably don't have enough time to make practice and competition match times while on the team.
- Expect to fill out a feedback form after each tryout match.
- Sometimes teams will be balanced by ranking, we want to see how teams work together with teammates of various skill levels, as well as playing against teams with a skill gap.
- We will try to give you your primary role, however if there is an abundance of strong applicants or we feel you may be better suited for another role, we will put you in your secondary role.
Criteria for Esports Student Athletes
- A friendly and positive attitude as a player and teammate
- Communication between you, other prospective players and the coaches outside of matches
- Willingness to learn, flexibility, and ability to accept constructive feedback
- In-game performance: How you communicate during a match, how you handle a bad match-up, playing from behind, how you behave in victory and defeat, individual skills and talents
- Doing pre-game research: Looking up your opponents and what they're playing, figuring out how to play the team composition with the champion/hero pools your teammates have, using a pick and ban phase to your advantage
Coach Contact Information
Kaitlin Teniente, Head Esports Coach
Email: kteniente@stmarytx.edu
Discord: Kaitlin#0001
Mackenzie Moncada, Assistant Esports Coach
Email: mmoncada@mail.stmarytx.edu
Discord: Ironknee#5369
