FEBRUARY 9, 2018, KEIZERTIMES, PAGE A7
WIN,
continued from Page A1
in other gaming online. Faster
internet speeds and changes
in the video game industry
have nearly rendered extinct
the days of passing a single
controller back and forth in a
game like Super Mario Bros.
Now, playing competitively
or in teams requires multiple
consoles, screens and usually
multiple copies of the same
game. During the club meet-
ings, opponents can play in the
same room with people on the
other side of a table by linking
systems with direct connections
or over the school’s wifi .
“What we do in Satellite
Gaming is much more fun than
being alone on the couch,”
Jacob said, adding that join-
ing the club was something of
a no-brainer. “If you have the
choice between gaming and
doing something resourceful, of
course you are going to choose
gaming.”
Natalie Smith and Mikayla
Gersztyn were the only two
girls in attendance on Monday,
Feb. 5, but they didn’t mind be-
ing the only ones.
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Jamie Harris shows members of the Claggett Creek Satellite
Gaming Club how to connect a local area network (LAN).
“Most of my friend group is
boys, so it’s not like it’s real dif-
ferent,” said Natalie, for whom
the club is a chance to try out
games other than the ones she
has at home.
Mikayla said she and her
brother frequently play Call of
Duty and Minecraft at home, but
she prefers Call of Duty.
“I like the strategies of hid-
ing out and attacking the other
players,” she said.
But the club provides other
opportunities as well.
“We learn about respect
because the winner stays in
the competition and handing
over the controller can be a big
deal,” said Mikayla.
Scheduling club meeting for
Monday helps Marcos prepare
for the week ahead.
“Nobody wants to get out of
bed on Monday, but then you
think about Satellite Gaming
and you look forward to getting
to do it and getting through the
day because you will feel joy
being here,” Marcos said.
Harris points to Marcos
when asked who exempli-
fi es the the lessons of Satellite
Gaming best.
“With middle school, hu-
mility can be a diffi cult thing
for them. Marcos is always
asking how he can help when
other kids are asking if they can
play fi rst. He’s kind of shy and
reserved, but he’s got a heart of
gold. And he’s like that all the
time, not only when he’s trying
to impress me,” Harris said.
Old School
Gamer
The fi rst notions of what
became
Satellite
Gaming
formed during Harris’ high
school years.
“I would go to parties just
because I knew there would
be people playing video games
there. I was really into Halo 2
and I wanted to be a competi-
tive gamer,” he said.
While other students at
the parties were drinking or
fi nding other troubles to get
into, Harris was on the couch
with a Xbox controller in his
hand. However, it didn’t stop
his parents from asking ques-
tions about what he’d been up
to if he came home smelling
of uniquely identifi able odors.
Eventually, they told him just
to invite his friend over for a
gaming night on New Year’s
Eve.
“I told them it would be
like 40 people, but they said
it was okay. We ended up with
50 people playing almost two
full games of Halo 2. Then we
started having parties like that
on a regular basis,” Harris said.
When he became a youth
pastor for Lakepoint Commu-
nity Church in Keizer, Har-
ris quickly discovered video
games were a unifying interest
for many of his new charges.
“One of the best ways to
reach students is fi nding out
what they do and doing it with
them or celebrating what they
can do,” Harris said.
In that respect, fi nding ways
to connect wasn’t much of a
challenge. The only barriers to
entry are what parents will al-
low their students to play. De-
pending on the school, options
range from games rated “E”
for everyone, like Super Smash
Bros., up to M-rated games like
Call of Duty. Parents need to
sign waivers if they are okay
with their kids playing the M-
rated fare, but Harris tries to
make sure all decisions are in-
formed ones.
In addition to club meetings
at the three Keizer schools, Sat-
ellite Gaming also hosts regu-
lar tournaments at CCMS and
invites youth from throughout
the area to attend. While the
kids play in the tournament,
parents are invited to take part
in informational sessions.
“We educate them on the
ESRB ratings and how to
make positive decisions on
which games and how long
their kids should be allowed to
play,” Harris said.
A lot of the defenses par-
ents put up to the idea of video
games end up being straw men.
“They worry about a kid
not being active enough when
playing video games, but they
are okay with them being a
bookworm. The amount of
physical activity is about the
same,” Harris said. “We just
want the parents to make
sound decisions about the types
of games their kids are playing.”
For the kids, the focus is
on appropriate behavior even
when operating behind an on-
line alias. They can earn expe-
rience points and level up dur-
ing the tournament simply by
being good sports and courte-
ous to everyone else.
The last tournament drew
a fi eld of more than 400 play-
ers. The next one is slated for
Friday, Feb. 23, at Claggett. De-
tails and pre-registration can be
found at www.satellitegaming.
net.
The lessons Harris tries to
impart have a habit of showing
up in unexpected moments.
When he was walking through
Claggett during a lunch period
Monday, a pair of kids started
chuckling as he passed. Har-
ris stopped and asked what
prompted the giggle-fi t. It
turned out one of the two had
gotten suspended from Harris’s
Twitch channel for inappropri-
ate comments. Twitch is a vid-
eo game streaming site where
gamers can play video games
and offer comment on their
play at the same time.
“I told him he was either
making fun of my wife or be-
ing really raunchy,” Harris said.
The teen responded that it
was the latter.
“I asked why he did it and
he told me he felt like you
could get away with whatever
you want online,” Harris said.
That’s precisely the kind of
behavior Harris hopes to redi-
rect through the club.
“If you are in a basketball
game and trying to get to the
hoop, you might throw a little
elbow to try to get someone
to back off. That might go un-
noticed, but online, the elbows
are words and there are real
people on the other side of the
keyboard,” Harris said.
Reset
If there is one story Harris
will likely never get tired of
telling it’s about a mother who
attended one of the tourna-
ments with her son.
She waited outside the
Claggett cafeteria while her
son progressed to the quarter-
fi nals and then Harris asked if
she would like to prop the door
open so she could hear what
was happening. She told Har-
ris she was busy with work, but
ended up sitting in the door-
way halfway in and halfway out
of the tournament fl oor.
Once players reach the fi nal
rounds, they get to play on the
Claggett stage with a big screen
in front of them. As her son
continued vanquishing foes,
the mother was drawn into the
game more and more. Increas-
ingly, she was putting her work
aside to spectate.
By the time her son made it
to the semifi nals, she was stop-
ping completely to clap and
cheer as her comprehension of
the game grew.
In the fi nal round, her son
made the game-winning kill
for his team and she was fi lm-
ing the moment on her phone.
“I turned around and she
was crying,” Harris said. “She
said she felt detached from her
son for so long and it was the
fi rst time in a long time that
she understood him. That’s
what this is all about for par-
ents: celebrating the effort the
same way you would kicking a
pigskin ball through two yellow
lines.”
For more information, to
volunteer or become a sponsor
of Satellite Gaming, visit the or-
ganization’s website. Spectators
are also welcomed and encour-
aged at the tournament on Feb.
23. The games begin at 5 p.m.
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