new esports club approved and created

Kleinvehn talks to some of the members of the Competitive Esports Club at their informational meeting. Get on their level

New Esports Club forms at Huntley High School By Chase Keller

Joining a club is one of many ways to get involved at Huntley High School. The school promotes more than 50 of these clubs and activities; from recreational clubs like Drone Club and Philosophy Club, to competitive ones like Contest Theatre and Fishing Club, there is room for nearly everyone’s preferences and hobbies.

That room expanded with the September addition of the Competitive Esports Club, sponsored by one of Huntley’s Alternative Learning Opportunities Program teachers Dillon Kleinvehn. The 23-year-old jack of all trades provided Huntley with a perfectly-timed moment to dip their toes into yet another state-wide competitive tournament.

“I feel like a club was bound to happen due to how video games have been exploding in popularity with esports,” Competitive Esports Club member Brendan Hollow said. “Eventually, someone was going to say ‘hey, we need to start a program,’ especially since it can help kids get into college.”

With the rising popularity of esports in all categories of schooling across the country, assistant principal and activities director Tom Kempf has looked to launch an Esports Club for the last 3 years. Interest continued to grow after he learned about McHenry High School’s gaming lounge.

“[McHenry High School] knew that esports was coming, so they built a dedicated space,” Kempf said. “That’s when it landed close to home.”

Flash forward to present day, and the HHS administration is actively researching and planning the addition of Huntley’s own game room.

“I’m looking to devote some money to find a space in our building,” principal Marcus Belin said. “We have some classrooms that used to be computer labs, so they have the wiring in the wall.”

The Competitive Esports Club structures itself around the Illinois High School Association, and its counterpart, the Illinois High School Esports Association. After the regular season, both unions host their own state-wide gaming tournaments just like the IHSA would with sports like basketball and cross-country. A variety of video game genres are offered throughout the year, like shooter games and sports games.

These tournaments support almost every mainstream video game console as well as PCs designed for playing video games, providing a vast amount of opportunities for any interested student.

“One of the great things about the Esports Club is that there is something for everyone who plays

video games,” Kleinvehn said. “It is a really flexible club in that aspect.”

Depending on the popularity of the game, students can face off with fellow Fox Valley Conference schools as well as other schools across Illinois and in bordering states.

Joining the Competitive Esports Club also presents students with an opportunity to be coached by one of the best: Kleinvehn. Kleinvehn was a standout “League of Legends” player at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where his impressive gameplay and dedication to his craft brought him “Challenger” honors in the game, top 200 of over 2-3 million monthly users.

“It is definitely something that I am proud of,” Kleinvehn said. “It has been a journey with [League of Legends], and I’ve appreciated every moment of it.”

After graduating in 2021, Ball State University hired him as the head coach for their university’s varsity “LoL” team. He left the team after a few months, and pursued coaching an amatuer “LoL” team: Supernova, an organization that acts as a developmental team for players attempting to go professional.

After a couple of months with the organization, Coach Klienvehn had to step away due to his personal life seizing over his free time. Fortunately, after applying for a social studies teacher opening at Huntley, Kempf noticed the esports successes on Kleinvehn’s resume, and officially followed through on the creation of the Competitive Esports Club.

“On his resume, he had a lot of information about how he played esports in college, and I was like, ‘this is exactly the kind of guy we need,’” Kempf said.

Along with his top-notch experience, Kleinvehn brings a lovable and respectable personality to HHS. His confidence, leadership, and ability to connect with students give members a second home with the club.

“Coach [Kleinvehn] is really nice,” Competitive Esports Club member Addison Raistrick said. “He is always there to support us. He is always fighting for us.”

So far, Kleinvehn has formed a “Splatoon 3” team, which as of Oct. 18, is 2-1 in their regular season matchups through four weeks, with wins over Troy Buchanan High School (MO), Deer Creek-Mackinaw High School, and a loss to Caddo Parish Magnet High School (LA). Every matchup is a best-of-five series, and the team is 7-3 in games played.

The team’s overall skill has leveled them up to a peak of 23rd place out of over 200 competing teams not only in Illinois, but across the country.

“Finding out that we’re ranked within the top teams, we might actually have a shot at a championship,” Raistrick said. “I’m super excited to see what happens next.”

Kleinvehn also created a Fortnite team on Monday, Oct. 16, and has self-assigned roles for “League of Legends,” “Super Smash Bros. Ultimate,” “Valorant,” “Overwatch,” and “Apex Legends” in their club Discord server. Sports games like “Madden NFL” and “NBA2K,” as well as other IHSA-supported esports games like “Rocket League,” are also in the mix for Kleinvehn.

With the addition of the Competitive Esports Club, both administration and Kleinvehn hope to broaden the experiences that students can receive at HHS. From freshmen to seniors; from beginners to experts; from introvert to social; the club is more than just gaming. It is a family.

“What I’m looking to establish with this club is to try and give kids a space to do what they love,” Kleinvehn said. “This gives them an activity to feel like they’re a part of Huntley High School.”

Before coaching the Competitive Esports Club at Huntley (right), Kleinvehn played for Miami University in Oxford, Ohio (left).

Courtesy of Dillon Kleinvehn K. Walsh

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