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Summer Camps

2024 OU Esports Camps Overview

Welcome to The University of Oklahoma Esports & Co-Curricular Innovation Department. Our mission is to advocate for esports and showcase its opportunities. With our camps, we aim to inform and provide hands-on experiences for all interested.

Understanding Esports

Esports is more than just competitive video gaming; it’s about teamwork, competition, and strategy. Our camps serve as an introduction to the world of esports, teaching participants what it means to be a teammate, a competitor, and a playmaker.

OU Esports Camp Programming

At OU Esports Camps, our programming is designed to cater to various audiences, exclusively tailored for competitive players. Led by coaches and captains from our official OU teams, our camps aim to develop competitive players and enhance their skill sets through mentorship and performance enhancement. Drawing from our active developments, our team comprises vetted upperclassmen, alumni, and ECCI employees, ensuring a diverse range of expertise and mentorship. We offer a comprehensive curriculum covering gameplay mechanics, teamwork, and leadership skills, providing impactful opportunities for potential recruits to OU and the next generation of Sooners. Our camps prioritize creating a positive and inclusive learning environment where every camper feels supported and motivated to excel.

Prerequisites & Requirements

 
  • Age Requirement: Participants must be at least in 7th grade (approximately 13 years old) up to high school seniors to join our camps. 
  • Physical Camp Requirements: To participate, campers must be able to get to campus and back. Campers are welcome to bring their own controllers and headsets, if preferred.
  • Virtual Camp Requirements: To participate, campers must have a reliable internet connection, a working PC/Console, Discord, and a microphone. 
  • *Coaches Camp Requirements: Must be affiliated with a scholastic program whether it is a K/12 direct program or a youth only development program seperate from a school.

Camp Expectations

 
  • Growth Mindset: Campers are encouraged to approach each day with a growth mindset, ready to absorb new concepts and techniques. 
  • Team Environment: Our camps foster a collaborative atmosphere where teamwork, communication, and leadership skills are emphasized. 
  • Punctuality and Attention: Being punctual and attentive is crucial to maximizing the camp experience and ensuring meaningful learning. 
  • Positive Environment: We prioritize a positive and supportive environment, where campers can thrive and grow. 
  • Performance Objectives: Throughout the camp, campers can expect performance reviews and objectives tailored to their individual growth.

Camp Offerings

 
  • In-Person Camps: Join us for hands-on experiences where you’ll interact with expert coaches and mentors, sharpening your skills in games like Overwatch 2 and Madden 2024.
  • Virtual Camps: Can’t make it to our physical location? No problem! Our virtual camps offer the same high-quality instruction and mentorship, allowing you to participate from the comfort of your own home.
  • Hybrid Camps(Coaches Only): For the coaches we want to offer a flexible camp allowing participation remotely or in person at the same time. We will leverage Discord as our communication tool to connect our venue to our virtual attendees in real-time.

Camp Pricing and Payment

The cost of attending OU ECCI Summer Camps varies depending on the camp type and duration. Detailed pricing information can be found at [insert website], along with instructions on how to register and make payments. Each camp has a specific fee associated with it, ranging from $90 for virtual camps to $160 for in-person camps. Payment can be made securely through our online portal using major credit cards, debit cards, or electronic transfers.

Why Choose OU ECCI Camps?

At the University of Oklahoma Esports & Co-Curricular Innovation Summer Camps, we offer more than just gaming; we provide a pathway to formally represent the University of Oklahoma. Our camps serve as a gateway to exploring scholarship and academic opportunities in various esports-related fields. With our guidance, participants can make well-educated decisions about their educational journey in esports. Join us to embark on an exciting journey of growth, learning, and exploration in the world of gaming and esports. Register now to secure your spot and take the first step towards unlocking your full potential in the gaming industry. We can’t wait to see you there!

Summer 2024 Camps Offerings

Check back in April 2025 for Summer 2025 camp listings.

Overwatch Summer Camp announcement for may 27-29, 2024 and registration at ou.edu/esports
Madden Summer Camp announcement for June 3-4, 2024 and registration at ou.edu/esports
Valorant Summer Camp announcement for June 17-19, 2024 and registration at ou.edu/esports
Coaches Summer Camp announcement for June 21-22, 2024 and registration at ou.edu/esports

FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

We are only interested in providing programming we have execution and expertise in. The titles we develop curriculum for are programs that have over a year of execution throughout the school year and their coaching staff is vetted to be professional, articulate, and respectful.

It is no mystery everyone’s sensitivities to potentially violent video games differ, however, we look at it as an opportunity to provide mentorship about technique, emotional control, and sportsmanship because they are playing them already. This is how we can contribute to positive community influence versus just turning our back to them. Games that are rated “M” are treated the same as those that are not from the curriculum development standpoint. These camps are not designed for day 1 beginners, but are for those that have put at least a little time into the game/topic already and desire coaching. Parents are involved in the registration process and are made aware of what they are subscribing to.

Naturally, we are students, staff, faculty, and alumni of The University of Oklahoma. We are proud advocates of our university. As we continue to elevate the esports topic, we are just one opportunity that exists at OU. It all starts with visiting www.ou.edu, but it doesn’t stop there. We are plugged in with our admissions and recruitment energies at the university level and promote conversation with them directly. We will gladly give you a very warm introduction to our personnel that can answer OU specific questions outside of the esports opportunities.

We know you’re interested in representing the University of Oklahoma formally in a licensed jersey, on a scholarship, and studying what you love. We’ve been working on all the above since 2016! That aside there are tons of degrees that correlate to esports career fields. Journalism, engineering, business to name a few. You can get scholarships through academic excellence also and is the cornerstone for our foundational focus on your academics always coming first.

REAL TALK: Esports in the educational sector is still very young in both K-12 and Higher Ed. There are many opportunities already popping up across the U.S. We are firm believers that we collectively owe it to our future generations to provide them with information and guidance to make a well-educated decision. Anybody entering and exiting educational journeys in the industry of esports is a win for everyone REGARDLESS of the brand and location.

HISTORY & 2024 OU ESPORTS CAMPS LEADERSHIP

Our camp coaches and staff are a small portion of our much larger organization. We have OU staff, students, and alumni involved in helping build this extension of our developments. In Summer 2020, and as the COVID impacts stopped practically all programming everywhere, we started offering virtual summer camps as one of the only departments at The University of Oklahoma. In doing so we started to mature our own practices of developing summer camps, growing coaches, mentoring youth, and diversifying our programs to fill in the Summer months. Thanks to this collective efforts of our Intercollegiate Esports pillar we are able to scale up camps programming to provide synergy across differing titles and continue to build our legacy in the space.

The 2024 OU Esports Coaching Cadre

Mike "Moog" Aguilar
  • Director, OU ECCI
  • 2024 Camps Head Supervisor
Joshua "Thumper" Riesenberg
  • Intercollegiate Esports Coordinator
  • 2024 Camps Coordinator
  • Overwatch & Coaches Camps Coach
John "Popcorn" Morgan
  • Valorant Camps Coach
Johnathan "JTran" Tran
  • Madden Camps Coach