Stay Plugged In's Rene Monteserin recently had the opportunity to speak with the esports coach at the Academy of Information Technology and Engineering (AITE) - a college preparatory public magnet school located in Stamford, Connecticut.
The AITE esports program started two years ago and is coached by Brenda Zanga, who serves as the school’s Business and Game Design teacher. She was tasked with coaching the group when one of her students approached the school admin about starting a program. Today, Coach Zanga’s program has about 30 players who compete virtually in the HSEL league. The team competes primarily in Rocket League.
In their inaugural season, this group of mostly seniors went on to capture the program’s first State Championship in Rocket League. AITE knocked off Xavier High School, who had won three consecutive titles. It was certainly a memorable season for this very talented and bright group of Rocket League players. As a tech-focused school, Zanga noted that a few of the players who starred on that team went on to pursue degrees in engineering.
Her students are passionate about competing and she’s hopeful that the excitement continues and the program continues to grow. Losing a talented group of upperclassmen has meant the team has had to rebuild, but having had a season like the one they had last year, serves as motivation for this new group of students.
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