Many students recognize the flyers for the Rocket League club, displaying the game’s logo, meeting times, and the Google Classroom code. However, it has relatively few members, as not many students are that dedicated to a video game. The ones who are, though, find the club to be a special experience. 

Of the video games to have a club at this school, it’s not surprising that Rocket League would be one of them, consistently popular since its release by Psyonix in 2015, reported in 2023 to have 90 million players, more than one percent of the world’s population. 

The game involves, “Cars playing 3-on-3 soccer, (“soccar” as the game puts it), in a 3-D arena,” as sophomore Aidan Wieland puts it, with boost power-ups allowing cars to accelerate and perform stunts in midair and along the walls of the arena. 

This seems fairly simple and indeed it is relatively easy to learn the basic mechanics, but it has a steep learning curve, which Wieland puts down to the “confusing physics” and “different perspective changes,” which are hard for new players to get into. New club members may also experience a front lining challenge of learning the control locations and how to navigate consoles, etc. 

Rocket League indeed has a large presence in eSports, with the official Rocket League Championship Series taking place over local networks since 2016, and it has grown to a total prize pool of $5 million in the upcoming 2025 season. 

The school’s club plays a fall and a spring season, playing matches online against schools from across the western United States on each Thursday at 5 p.m., prior to a playoff at the end of the season. If a team wins their league, they will advance to the national competition in Kansas City, which they came very close to in their two prior seasons, finishing second and third respectively. 

During the spring, there is a different system, where they try to qualify for the premier league as one of the top eight, if a team does not qualify, they are part of the major league, the second division, which some teams will sign up for if they don’t have the resources to play the premier league schedule.

Wieland has enjoyed his time in the club, making, “Amazing friendships,” helping, “develop his social skills,” and, “learn what it is like to be a leader.” Other students have had similar experiences. According to Aiden, many of them were,

“Nervous and shy,” but have, “now become leaders.”

The club meets on Mondays and Fridays at lunch in Room 218.