Jesse Amos wants to go pro – that is, as a professional gamer.
"I've got some amazing coaches here who are teaching me how to play them better, how you can make money off of them," Amos said.
The St. Christopher student is one of dozens who attended the 2025 Esports Summer Boot Camp, hosted in the Nexus Arena run by the Student Representative Council at St. Clair College.
Amos tried his hand at VALORANT and Fortnite, two titles which are very popular in the rapidly evolving Esports landscape.
"I love this, I love it here," said Amos. "It's really fun, so I just keep coming back. I can't get enough of it."
But for campers across two weeks of programming, it was about more than just playing games for eight hours a day. Campers ranging in age from eight to 14 years old also learned other ways to make a career out of esports, including content creation, broadcasting and production.
"Playing games is a very small part of it," said Adrian Malhiers, a camp counsellor who is also going into his second year of the Esports Administration and Entrepreneurship program at the College. "It's just amazing being able to teach these kids about broadcasting, marketing, running events, and seeing how maybe one day they will come into the esports program."
Malhiers noted during one of the days in camp, they coached students on how to do a "walk-out," just like the professionals during highly competitive tournaments.
"We are basically preparing them for an actual match, and all that stuff that goes into it," Malhiers said, noting students are also introduced to the Esports program coaches and varsity players at the camp, creating a buzz around what could be a future career option.
"We are trying to prepare the kids to maybe join the esports industry in the future," he added.
The camp was also designed to ensure screen time was limited to the game-play environments and broadcast editing, getting the campers outdoors for some good old fashioned field time.
"I think it's worth every cent," said Amos, who said he will be returning for the March Break camp again next year.
