Our Family’s Esports Journey with EKUSO and the K1NG

My son Ryan was always a happy kid in his early years. He could easily make friends, he enjoyed going to school, and he was the kid who could make the best out of a bad situation. This was true up until he went to junior high school in the sixth grade where, on day one, he was bullied. The bullying kept cropping up that first semester, and it eventually wore him down. He was no longer the upbeat boy who was happy to go to school. He started having severe anxiety about going to school. He started asking us if he could stay home from school quite often, complaining that he was not feeling well, which was something he had never done before. We knew we had to do something to help him out since we had exhausted our efforts at that school. During the winter break, we found a new school for him, got him enrolled, and never looked back. It is one of the best things we have ever done for him. 

Unfortunately, COVID hit two months after he started at his new school. The transition to virtual learning was just fine for Ryan. He did very well academically, and at the end of that school year, he managed to earn several of the awards given out at the school. Then in the summer of the same year, the head of his new school sent out an email introducing us to Ekuso Esports. The school was interested in forming an esports team. Ryan had never heard of esports, and neither had I. My husband knew a little bit about it, but for the most part we were very new to it. Ryan and our other two children were no strangers to video games, but they had never played anything like League of Legends, the game Ekuso was going to focus on. I was intrigued after reading that email since it provided many details about esports. Ryan had a lot of experience playing different sports like t-ball, soccer, and basketball. It sounded to me that esports, besides the obvious difference being they would be playing the game on a computer, might not be all that different. Ryan was all for it, so we signed him up. We had no idea what a blessing in disguise it would be for him.

In his first semester with Ekuso, Ryan ended up being the only student from his school to join. So, his school didn’t have a team yet, but it was still a great opportunity for him. Obviously, since this all began during the pandemic, the classes, practices, games, and tournaments were all online. As a 12-year-old at the time, Ryan was one of the youngest students on the team. I remember his coach, Faith, would send us emails about his observations regarding how Ryan was progressing that semester. It was quite impressive to read how Ryan was so involved and engaged in every class. League of Legends was new for Ryan, but apparently, he learned how to play it very well pretty quickly and developed great intuition for the game. To date, he has always been a very strong player in Ekuso. His in-game name is K1ngofbattle, or K1ng for short. He quickly stepped into a leadership role during his first year playing, something we had never seen Ryan do with such confidence in the past in any other sport. Even though he was a younger player, his teammates still chose him to lead the team during tournaments. He gained the respect of his coach and teammates early on.

By the second semester of school that year, more students from Ryan’s school joined Ekuso, and they were able to form a proper team. This year is the school’s third year with Ekuso and they still have a team. The kids work so well together. It’s fun for parents to watch them in tournaments because they have so much fun. Anyone can see that Ekuso provides a safe and inclusive place for all of the kids. They are all so comfortable with each other no matter which school they come from. There is such camaraderie amongst all the teams, which is such a beautiful thing to witness.

Being part of Ekuso and part of an esports team has been nothing short of amazing for Ryan. Esports works like any other sport you can think of. You have a team that you must learn to work and play a game with. The team plays against other teams in the league. They practice regularly, attend and play in tournaments, and then they review their games to help them figure out how to improve. It’s a game that can put players into some high stress situations, so they must be able to remain calm, think, and strategize quickly. Ryan thrived and continues to thrive on all of it. He enjoys hyping up and leading his team and makes sure to praise his teammates regularly. We can hear him when he plays, and it’s a wonderful thing. He is quite good when he leads and always does his best to be a team player. As his parents, we are so proud when we hear his teammates speak so highly of him. He is well-respected by everyone. It’s also cool to hear shout casters during tournaments talking about K1ngofbattle since he tends to make some great plays throughout the games. 

Of course, none of this would be possible without the founder of Ekuso, Faith, who in my eyes is the best mentor and coach Ryan has ever had. I don’t think there is anyone who has ever helped Ryan grow, not just in esports, but in so many other ways. Faith helped Ryan gain more confidence in himself and helped him become the leader he is today. Faith has a knack for being able to articulate things to his students like how to deal with frustrations that can surface while playing the game and how to deal with losses in a positive way. Faith has also been instrumental in helping make sure the kids do not think it’s okay to just play video games all the time. He teaches them the importance of school and keeping up their grades. Esports is great and fun, but there is no guarantee, as with any sport, that you will be able to go pro one day. The stats on players going pro in esports are the same as with any professional sport. So, Faith makes sure the kids understand that they still need to focus on other interests for their future. 

I can only hope that Ryan will always be connected to Faith in some way. We see what a great mentor he has been to Ryan. Esports came into Ryan’s life at just the right time. I truly believe that. Gaining confidence brought out the old Ryan, and we were so thrilled to see that, especially after the bullying he experienced. Being a part of Ekuso seemed to bring Ryan a new purpose and it continues to teach him about leadership and positivity. That is invaluable, and we will always be so grateful to Ekuso for this journey we chose and continue to be on with our K1NG, Ryan.