In our final week of the Student Athlete Behind the Screen Series, we will breakdown the game of Rocket League and our featured Esports and Swimming Student Athlete will be the Spring 2021 East Coast Conference (ECC) Rocket League Champion and the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Runner-up, Samuel Rozenfeld. Samuel is from Staten Island, NY who is going into his sophomore year at the College of Staten Island. He is a nursing student and in the Macaulay Honors Program at CSI. Sam is also known by his gamer tag Eleventeen.
 
Sam is on the Esports Rocket League team, which was the only team to compete in both athletic Esports conferences within the same semester. For those that may not know the game of Rocket league, it is a 3v3 vehicular soccer game played in a best of five series with five minutes games for each. Across both conferences, Sam and his teammates, boosting an overall 20-4 record, won the Spring 2021 ECC RL Championship and just came up just short of winning Spring 2021 ECAC RL Championship. Due to the amazing season, the team was invited to compete in the first ever Collegiate Esports National Championship (CENC). Sam simplified the game for us and gave his thoughts, stating, "…It is so easy to pick up and understand, its cars (and) soccer…everyone is on a level playing field, all the cars are the same, speed and ability to hit the ball (are the same). It all comes down to individual skill, mechanics and the ability to perceive the play." Sam's last sentence, despite that he is talking about an Esports video game, can also be said about any traditional sport. A player's (game or athletic) skill, their mechanics and their ability (physical or mental), all equates to the same goal in the minds of all student athletes in any sports game competition, to win.
 
As a kid, Sam recalls playing on his DS and games like Wii Sports, Pokemon, and Super Mario Bros. but it wasn't until middle school where he started playing computer games with friends, on a team, competitively but also just for fun. Halfway into high school now, Sam describes his experience with competitive gaming, in particular with Rocket League "…watching it on YouTube, watching creators I liked, I decided to buy it and fell in love with it instantly. It's always been something I can fall back to, relax and play and I consistently got better and better." Although Sam would add that he outgrew some friends' skill level, he also made new ones equally skilled, like his current teammate, Maxim Kleyer (aka Mucks). Max, who he has known since early high school, is also on the CSI Swimming team with Sam and thus they already had chemistry going in. He added, "…we both coincidentally went to CSI together and we thought it would be so cool to have a Rocket League team at CSI, (then) we found a third and its been working out ever since." With the help of Alberto Sanchez, CSI Rocket League would have a full team of six competing in both conferences and doing it nearly flawlessly.
 
While discussing the impact that COVID had on tradition sports compared to esports, it was clear that because of COVID, CSI Athletics was able to make varsity Esports competition possible. Sam would state this sentiment perfectly, "The timing of it was fortunate (for esports) because if COVID didn't hit (athletic) conferences would not have allowed for remote play." When asked how he and his teammates would prepare for their upcoming games, he stated, "we had a few kinks in the beginning that we had to work out, we had to all get up to speed and make sure we can play together as a team, as a unit, but after that it was smooth sailing, it really was, it was great." Although they weren't able to watch any streams from their opponents, they did practice their game play style going in and focused on executing what they had in mind, then adjusted as needed in-game.
 
The conversation then shifted to the popular notion that Esports shouldn't be consider a sport. When asked what he would say to those that believe that notion he would add, "They are wrong, Esports is 95% mental and 5% physical, which is why some people really wouldn't consider it a sport because you're not building muscle, (or) you're not competing physically (or), you're not distinguishing yourself in a way that is immediately observable." His statement could not be truer in terms of how visibly or as Sam puts it, how immediately observable are Esports compared to traditional sports? The answer is simple, it wasn't, but just like many people today who believe Baseball is boring, those same people are now investing in Esports and in today's technological/remote world, Esports is becoming more and more visible everywhere. Sam would also add his thoughts on his mindset as a gamer but also as a competing Swimmer, "A lot of it is you have to stay consistent; you have to stay innovative and always be in that mentally of improving. Even if you are in a slump you have to dig yourself out of it just like in regular sports, they are really one in the same, just in a different format essentially."
 
When asked about if he considers himself a gamer or athlete, with hesitation he said both, adding, "you can't just sit here in your chair for hours on end playing a game and not maintain your health, body and your mental state. If you're not getting the proper sleep, the proper nutrition, keeping your body in shape, then you're going to fall apart in the game." Just like any traditional sport, you must be in the right mindset to compete. Sam would then give his thoughts on the influential difference between video games and traditional sports, "(in traditional sports) your encouraged by your parents, your thrown into it, you find success and you continue on your own… you do not have that driving force that traditional sports does and I think that is what makes Esports so much more impressive, it's all here (mental)." Self-motivation is key for any player in any sport, however, for Esports players it's all they have known. With the world becoming more visible and open to Esports and its industry, that notion may change in the coming future, where instead of parents not letting their kids play video games for too long, they may start sending them to Esports specific summer camps. Sam would also state that gaming has always been a hobby of his and "sometimes I use other games to wind down from Rocket League just like I would use them to wind down from school or (traditional) sports or whatever."
 
In conclusion, although Sam is excited to come back and compete for another Esports title he is also looking forward to his first official Division II Varsity Swimming season with Head Coach/Aquatics Director, Michael Ackalitis. Mike recruited him during COVID-19 and thus is yet to make his Dolphin debut in the tank. Nonetheless, we are all hopeful for the Fall 2021 semester and season, including Sam, who will have his hands full with Macaulay, Nursing, Esports and Swimming coming soon. Coach Ackalitis had this to say about his recruit and why he thinks he's had the success thus far and hopes it continues in the Dolphin Tank, "he is a hard worker, willing to grow, wants to do well. He is organized and, on the ball, willing to do the work, (his) leadership skills are there for sure." I want to thank Samuel for the time he took for this interview, we cannot wait to see him back on the screen and make his debut in-person in the Dolphin Tank.
 
This will conclude our Exclusive Esports Storied series "The Student Athlete Behind the Screen." Be sure to check out our Esports page HERE to find our schedule, stream links, our rosters, and more!