As one of the newest clubs at our school, the gaming club has quickly become a large talking point among students. The gaming club was started by senior Anthony Greco earlier this year. Greco said that after hearing about the Esports team at our school, he was inspired to form his own club. 

   “I just learned that we had an Esports team here back when I was a sophomore,” Greco said. “I was inspired by that to bring a gaming club to the school to help students enjoy school and also to get students to be comfortable around each other and be themselves.”

     When a new club is started, it typically takes a few weeks for the club to gain popularity and get people involved. However, the gaming club has already become one of the more popular clubs at our school, despite only existing for less than two months. Greco said he has been surprised by the overwhelming number of students that have been attending the club. 

   “In the first meeting, we had 28 people, but after two weeks, it went down to 22 people that were coming to the meeting,” Greco said. “I was expecting some decline, but what I didn’t expect was when it picked up in popularity. Near the end of February, we rose to 32 members, and at the beginning of March, we had 40-plus people in the classroom. It was chaotic, but it was good. It meant that a lot of people wanted to be a part of the club. but we did get some noise complaints. So, we had to limit the member size in the classroom for the meetings to 32 so it doesn’t happen again.”

   To make a club great, it is important for the club leader to factor in the feedback from the members of the club. Greco said that he has received many creative ideas for the club. 

   “During the two months of the club creation, I had gotten a lot of feedback from the club community,” Greco said. “All have been positive and brought in games for us to play, and a student has even brought their PS5 to play NBA 2K here.”

   For a student to start a club, they must find a teacher to be the club sponsor. Science teacher Mark Frankenburg stepped in as the sponsor of the gaming club. Frankenburg said it was a natural fit due to his fondness for gaming. 

   “Anthony Greco, the student who is the driving force behind the club, approached me and asked if I would be interested. Since I wasn’t sponsoring any clubs yet and I’m casually interested in gaming, I agreed,” Frankenburg said. 

   Like Greco, Frankenburg is also pleased with the feedback from the members of the gaming club.

   “The feedback so far has been very positive. Not-very-shocking fact: many students enjoy getting together with their friends and playing video games,” Frankenburg said. “They are happy to have a time and place to do that. You can hear their enthusiasm during club meetings. I think students also enjoy that we have several different choices of games/consoles to pick from.”

   Students can see the energy of the gaming club for themselves by attending the gaming club meetings. The club meets on Tuesdays during the afternoon Wildcat Connection in Frankenburg’s classroom in room 206. However, whether students attend the meetings or not, you will likely be able to hear the passion in the club from wherever you are in the school.