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Zhang pursues passion, tapped as Cottey College eSports coach
Virginia native Bovey Zhang was recently hired to lead Cottey College's freshly minted eSports program.
eSports is defined as competitive, organized video-gaming. The world of eSports involves competitors from various leagues squaring off against each other. While Zhang has yet to officially ink anyone to a scholarship, he says he hopes to have the program ramped up by this fall with a team that could range from six to 12 members.
Prior to arriving at Cottey Zhang, a Liberty University graduate, worked for the government in IT cyber-security in Washington D.C. Zhang, who also runs his own eSports company, said he left his job in D.C. to pursue what he loved most in life.
"I wanted to pursue my passion, that was basically my end-goal," Zhang told the Daily Mail. "I wanted to pursue something I enjoyed in life. Don’t do it for the money, don’t do it for the glory. Just do it because you like doing it."
Zhang said eSports is more than just about video-gaming.
"e-Sports can build future careers, in not just gaming," he said. "For example, Webcasters (webinars), graphic designers, video editing, event organizing and operations. So there’s a lot of job opportunities that can be grown into this space. That’s something I want to push in college, that we can actually have a degree in eSports."
Added Zhang: "It's a pretty big industry, and growing into something phenomenal. A lot of NFL and NBA teams own eSports (properties)."
Zhang said he also wants to vanquish the stigma that video-gamers are lazy and "sit on their butt."
"I have a strong, athletic background, and want to break that stigma for future gamers," he said, adding that physical training will be incorporated into his practices.
"I believe if you have a healthy body, you have a healthy mind," Zhang explained. "So, we’re going to have that regimen in our practice sessions."
Zhang said the eSports platform is evolving, and that his program will ultimately compete in leagues and tournaments. Some of the high-profile leagues include Collegiate Starleague (CSL), and Riot Games Collegiate League of Legends. Additionally, the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) was founded in 2016, and sets out to develop eSports as a varsity program on college campuses.
"An eSports scholarship is something that has not been done here before," Zhang said, referring to Cottey. "You’re able to come here and play a varsity sport, and do something you enjoy. I think we can definitely emphasize that, and bring in more diverse people."
Zhang said a recruiting obstacle he foresees is that Cottey is an all female institution. "There’s a lot of female gamers out there, that kind of play on a casual basis. Not necessarily looking to be competitive. So the challenge, is 'hey, do you want to play this competitively, or play it (just) for fun?'"
Zhang noted that the primary attribute he's looking for in a recruit is a "drive to succeed."
"The will to succeed, and correlate that into a team atmosphere," he said. "I treat this like a traditional sport. Everyone is teachable.”
Zhang said Cottey is looking to allot space in Hinkhouse Center for the eSports program, comprised of roughly 16 computers. According to Zhang It will also potentially be a shared space for other online Cottey activities.
Zhang's Flash Point venture, according to his website www.flashpoint.gg, is "committed to leading the gaming industry by investing in our player training through our academy scheme, character building, and competitive research — that will help grow the Esport scene globally and bring innovative partnerships, sponsorships and fan engagement practices to the industry." Flashpoint is partnered with Microsoft Mixer, a streaming platform.
Zhang's organization has five professional eSports teams, which compete in major tournaments for prize money and trophies.
"I built something from nothing," Zhang stated. "I want to (use) all of my experience that I’ve gotten from eSports, all the industry leaders, and transition it to a college scene. It’s something I did for free for quite some time. And now I am able to use that experience to build something solid for the future."
Zhang's humble beginnings can be traced back to small-town Goochland, Virginia, located 30 miles west of Richmond. Zhang said that before the advent of eSports, he and his friends would gather in their backyards or garages and play video games competitively. Zhang said it's surreal that competitive video-gaming morphed into a "global phenomenon."
"I just never imagined, as a kid growing up, it would get that big, and you could actually make a career out of it," he said. "Seeing that realm in a competitive atmosphere is pretty surreal."