From left are Teacher Alayne Baggaley, Grade 11 student Ejhisen Tabilisma, Grade 12 student Colten Kilpatrick and Teacher Dan Mills. (Supplied)

By rdnewsNOW staff

Rocket League

Lindsay Thurber Esports team finds international success

Mar 5, 2025 | 4:41 PM

The Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School Esports Club is making a name for itself on the global stage.

Students on the team are climbing the global ranks of Rocket League, which is one of the world’s most competitive video games.

Among those reaching new heights is Colten Kilpatrick, a Grade 12 student, Ejhisen Tabilisma and Ethan Kuhn, both Grade 11 students.

“I’m currently in the top 500 in Canada and the top 3,000 in the world,” said Kilpatrick in a media release, adding that Rocket League currently has approximately 90 million active players.

Rocket League is a competitive game that combines soccer with rocket-powered cars. Not only is precision needed but teamwork and quick decision making. The competitors control flying, flipping, and boosting vehicles in order to score goals.

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Students of the Lindsay Thurber Esports Club are led by coaches Dan Mills and Alayne Baggaley, who are also teachers at the school.

The Club competes through an international organization called Generation Esports that runs competitive leagues and tournaments for schools across North America.

So far, they’ve competed against teams from all over Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The club provides a platform for competition but also strives to develop leadership and teamwork. The students also remain focused on a balanced approach to their school work and classes.

“What these students are accomplishing is the equivalent of playing on an NHL team while still attending high school,” Mills said.

Tabilisma joined the Esports Club because of his strong passion for gaming. Meanwhile, Kilpatrick has been hooked since he started playing ,which landed him a spot on Nat 5, a professional esports team in Canada.

“We recently played in the North American qualifier with 1,100 teams – and we placed 100th,” he said.

This fall, Kilpatrick will head to Spring Arbor University in Michigan on a scholarship, where he’ll compete on a collegiate Rocket League team while studying graphic design. Tabilisma also has big plans to pursue a career in medicine.