Valley Christian Rocket League team wins PlayVS Cup championship

Valley Christian High School’s Rocket League team capped a perfect season with a PlayVS Cup national championship, showcasing faith, teamwork, and esports excellence.

• The Arizona Interscholastic Association has seen significant growth in esports, with over 100 schools participating.

When Chandler Valley Christian High School’s esports Rocket League team began its journey this season, few could have predicted how far it would go.

Under the guidance of head coach Jon Hunsaker and the steady leadership of team captain Chase DeBoer, the Trojans not only captured the Arizona Interscholastic Association state championship but also won the PlayVS Cup national title.

“This is almost hard to fathom,” said DeBoer. “As a 500-person Christian school, we’ve had the opportunity to win a national championship. And I think after winning it, especially, it’s become a big source of honest pride to represent all of Arizona and to represent now the country as a whole, in terms of high school esports.”

The Trojans went undefeated in the regular season and playoffs, then carried that dominance into the PlayVS Cup, which is a single-elimination tournament for champions and runners-up nationwide.

After victories over Michigan’s Dakota High School and Hawaii’s President Theodore Roosevelt High School, Valley Christian sealed the title with a win over Texas powerhouse Prosper High School.

The AIA, which oversees most high school sports competition in Arizona, has included esports as an official team activity for the past six years.

“We have seen immersive growth, with 101 member schools participating across three games of League of Legends, Rocket League, and Super Smash Bros.,” said Brian Bolitho, AIA Chief Business Development Officer. “Next year, Marvel Rivals will enter the fold as another game that our member schools can compete in for a state title.”

For Hunsaker, watching his team’s rise was as nerve-wracking as it was rewarding.

“When I was a student myself, I would never, ever get nervous because I felt like the game was in my hands,” he said. “But as a coach, I get a lot more nervous. I have to hope that the game plan that I’ve prepared and the way I’ve prepared the students is just enough. But the biggest thing is just knowing that I have a really awesome group of guys. I have full trust in them and their abilities.”

That trust stemmed from a foundation of faith in the Christian-based school’s team and their camaraderie. 

“We’re not necessarily trying to win. We’re just trying to glorify God through the way that we play, and if we do that right, we end up winning most of the time,” Hunsaker said.

DeBoer embraced his role as a leader both in and out of the game.

“It felt amazing to go as far as we did and accomplish everything we wanted to,” he said. “But I enjoyed being able to lead the guys because, as a captain in the game, they look up to you as a person and as a leader. Just being able to steward them and teach them a lot of things about the game and life, and have fellowship with them, was awesome.”

Hunsaker studied film on opponents and devised strategies to counter their strengths. 

Against Prosper High School, he said, “Their best player… likes to play very defensively because he is more talented than the other members on the roster. Because we were able to identify that, we were able to take advantage of that play style and maybe be a little bit more aggressive.”

Mental endurance was just as important as strategy.

 “It takes a lot of concentration and a lot of perseverance,” DeBoer said. “Those games can get very draining, and when you get to the end, all you want to do is stop playing. But as we knew we were closing it out, it was just an amazing feeling.”

For DeBoer, the memories will outlast the trophies. 

“I’m most proud of the relationships that I’ve made. We’ve had a lot of success, but championships are mostly forgotten. The relationships I’ve built with my teammates and coaches … I think I’m going to take that way farther than any feeling of victory.”