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In its third year as a program, the Omaha Central esports team has had several kids earn college scholarships, and they're even ranked 25th in the country by USA Today.

OMAHA (KMTV) — Esports have become a new way for students to tap into their competitive side.

• This is the third year of esports at Omaha Central.
• Several students in the past two years have earned college scholarships to continue esports at the next level.
• Students say esports have benefitted them in other ways, including finding a friend group and allowing them to compete in something they love, just like traditional sports.

BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:

For generations we’ve thought the way to get a scholarship outside the classroom was through traditional sports.

But what if I told you loving video games is helping kids earn money for college?

I’m Kelsey Mannix with the esports team at Omaha Central High School where these students are competing to level up their future.

In almost three years of esports at Omaha Central, several players have earned college scholarships.

"Which literally didn’t change the course of their life because they didn’t qualify for any other scholarships," John Franta, Central's esports coach, said.

Esports can be life-changing in other ways as well.

Kids who are shy at first aren’t by the time they leave.

"Everybody here is comfortable with each other," senior Mohamed Aden said. "They’re comfortable to show their true selves. Nobody is awkward, or at least I don’t think they are. And if they are, they eventually come out of their shell like I did."

Mohamed Aden joined as a sophomore.

"Normally I just play games for fun, but with the whole competition part, it actually makes me happy to come to esports every day."

"I’m definitely a competitive person," sophomore Sophi Luethge said. "I feel like this has just made (me) even more competitive really."

Sophi Luethge became more of a team player.

"You grow, you learn to work with a bunch of people, and you get close with them. They become your friends and your family."

"Esports is like no other sport. You’re sitting in front of a screen playing a game," Aden said.

But in other ways esports are exactly like traditional sports.

They compete against other schools, in Nebraska and other states.

The Eagles even cracked into USA Today’s top 25 rankings (but fell out in the final rankings released Nov. 20).

"We’ll play a game and I will literally freeze the game and say ‘do you see what you just did there?" Franta said. "It’s running drills just like in football, and we have to figure out… the tactic that we’re going to hit."

As for what’s ahead…

"Hopefully if I do go to college for esports, that would be amazing," Aden said. "But I also want to go to college for computer engineering, software engineering."

"There’s so many amazing people, there’s so much opportunity, so much money to be made," Luethge said. "Games are the future."