Adam Lopez, who has been a key contributor in building of esports programs in the Irvine Unified School District (IUSD), had been named as the coordinator and instructor of what will be the new esports program at Irvine Valley College.
Both Irvine Valley and Lopez are excited to get gaming started with the Lasers.
Lopez has been an avid gamer since his childhood and a fan of multiplayer games when it first reached pop culture status through Halo 2 on Xbox live.
He quickly gravitated to the esports strategy-based games such as Starcraft: Brood War, Counter-Strike 1.6 / Source, and Heroes of Newerth, achieving a top 1% ranking in the MOBA, FPS, and Card Games (Diamond 2, Global Elite, Mythic 300). He found the most success in World of Warcraft Arenas, being one of the few professional video gamers in 2010 at the age of 18. Lopez has competed in world of warcraft leagues hosted by ESL and Blizzard.
And, he has been a passionate esports fan since 2007.
A graduate of Long Beach State, Lopez played and coached for the League of Legends team in 2017 and 2018. In addition to competing, he soon found himself more active in the club tasks such as recruitment, technical setup and hosting servers. He even commentated for the Beachon 2017 League of Legends Tournament.
While completing his Teaching Credential, Lopez advised and coached for the Woodbridge High School (Irvine) Esports Club, where he led students to a fourth-place finish in the Overwatch NASEF 2018 High School Finals and secure playoff positions in the League of Legends NASEF 2019 High School Tournament.
Lopez has also helped growing the #esportsedu community in Orange County. He has developed curriculum to deliver a blended learning middle school esports course with IUSD at the Creekside Education Center.
He hosted the STEAM Fest Kingston HyperX Esports Zone with the Irvine Public Schools Foundation and is currently on a K-12 taskforce with the Orange County Department of Education, helping guide and explore the ways that Esports can be used to promote career tech education.
"I believe that above all, bringing a truly authentic esports experience to the students of Irvine Valley is what will achieve the success that the Laser sports department has become accustomed to," Lopez said. "I am more than ready to deliver an esports education that directly reflects the staggering grounds that are being made in the professional world."
IVC esports Coordinator Adam Lopez talks about what drove him to IVC and about his love of gaming
Why were you interested in the start-up of the Irvine Valley Esports program?
It has been clear to me, from the start, that we have a great opportunity and responsibility at IVC to develop a thriving esports program. The stakeholders...most importantly, the students, are ready. I will enthusiastically jump at the chance to be more involved in the esports equation of Irvine. This city is a known haven for esports. And, I feel prepared to bolster the educational opportunities in the community to reflect that.
Tell us a little about your background and when gaming became a passion in your life?
Gaming has always been a passion in my life. I got a Sega Genesis for Christmas when I was age six and have been gaming ever since. Gaming, and more specifically competitive gaming, has always been a place where I feel engaged and challenged. It has been a place to push my skills to the next level, flex my creativity and realize my potential with my friends.
Esports benefits students because it's a demanding technological activity that 70%+ of students are interested in. Interest is a crucial ingredient in quality learning that often gets neglected in most typical courses of study.
If educators can properly develop esports on a campus, we can end up having a positive impact on many different students in many different ways. For some students, this may simply be a place where they enjoy exploring a hobby with their peers and develop quality skills to be used in their life along the way. And there will be some students that will be more directly interested in developing and preparing for a career.
It varies. And, the ability to adapt with students, due to overwhelming interest, is what makes it so powerful in education.
How has esports impacted you, especially having been involved with IUSD (Irvine Unified School District) programs?
Many of the skills that that define who I am, I have developed and refined through esports. I love this activity. Esports is my life.
Being accepted and welcomed into the educational community of Irvine, in the esports space, has been a dream. Everyone, from the students to the administrators, are so talented and passionate. Being a leader for this specific community is an honor and has allowed me to participate in some great work. It is deeply gratifying and inspiring.
What are your main goals with the IVC esports program? What is your initial message to those interested in joining the program?
I want to ensure that we set up a responsive environment and robust culture where esports students can thrive. We plan to quickly establish a community standard practice of success in esports where we look to the greatest organizations in this field and build off of the ideas of the larger international gaming communities. And, then adapting those practices to fit Irvine Valley.
Also, if you are interested in more than just the competition, like esports media production, management, etc...please stay tuned, as we will be exploring more of the ecosystem in the future. For now, we are looking for highly competitive athletes, coaches and strategists to spearhead a strong esports team that can compete against the best collegiate squads.
What are your favorite game titles and why? Are there ones you don't play on a regular basis, but watch?
Oh yes! I've always enjoyed watching esports tournaments, even if I don't play the game. In-fact the first time I realized I loved esports was while watching the Blizzcon Warcraft 3 EU Qualifiers with Grubby (Manuel "Grubby" Schenkhuizen). I had never played or watched Warcraft 3 at that time, nor had I even watched an esport event, but I still was glued to my monitor...bewondered by the glorious 360p stream.
Since then, I have, at least at one point in my life, played and/or watched every Esports title/genre. From the popular MOBA, FPS, RTS, and fighting game titles, all the way down to non-traditional Esports, with less viewership, like speedrunning.
I am a proud stereotypical mega-nerd and gravitate towards the fantasy games such as World of Warcraft, Magic: The Gathering, League of Legends and Starcraft (Brood War+2). I am drawn to the strategical depth and demand of those games.
What titles do you see Irvine Valley going forward with?
The esports program is open to all esports titles/genres. So, with there being a high volume of student interest, it won't surprise me when we field highly competitive teams across all the major titles.
But, two more things.
After looking at (the initial Irvine Valley) survey results, I think our FPS team(s) are going to be ultra-powerful. And, secondly, I would like to attract a few top performing players in non-traditional esports such as sim racing, chess, and/or speedrunning.
What do you think will be the most important trends in Esports to look out for going forward?
This is a fun question, I love calling my shots.
This one is weird to say, but, mobile esports may start showing up in a big way. I think a lot of professionals see mobile esports as the emerging subfield within the already emerging field of gaming.
And, I think we are going to see a continued trend upwards in the importance of the Esport athlete health and wellness. It makes me happy to see many successful esports orgs, whether pro or academic, setting a good standard by prioritizing health and wellness lately.
Please give us some of your favorite resources in learning more about Esports?
Irvine driven academic esports leagues are some of, if not, the best academic leagues in the world. And, their websites can be some of the best places to get more information on esports in education.
For information on Middle School – High School academic esports, check out nasef.org
And, for collegiate, tespa.org
And a final message for prospective Irvine Valley Esports gamers along with anything else you would like to add?
Whether students simply want to just come in and have fun on the team, or prepare for a future in esports. We will ensure we are one of the best options for students interested in this activity.
Irvine Valley esports Discord link
Irvine Valley esports Coordinator Adam Lopez is excited to hear from prospective IVC gamers and enthusiasts and can be contacted at adamlopez226@ivc.edu
