Yet in the last several months, a trio of local leagues have debuted that are fully affiliated with high schools and supported by education districts. Whether or not they're models other school districts can copy, they're certainly the most robust high school eSports associations in the US — if not the world.

Schools looking to build local leagues for minimal cost could emulate the Wisconsin High School eSports Conference (WHSEC), which quietly debuted back in October. It began as a passion project: Instructor Mike Dahle started an afterschool gaming club for his students at Arrowhead High School located west of Milwaukee. When they wanted to establish an eSports team, he made it happen and became their coach. They joined an online league, but its lack of structure (sometimes other teams simply wouldn't show up to matches) frustrated him and his students. So after speaking with like-minded teachers at other Wisconsin schools, he decided to create his own league. The WHSEC had its first season last fall with seven teams from all over the state and quickly grew to 15 teams in its second season.

"Once a state gets 80 schools participating, the [Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletics Association] will recognize it as a sport. That's my goal right now," Dahle told Engadget.

The WHSEC doesn't have national ambitions -- Dahle, who has since moved on from Arrowhead High School, remains its sole organizer. It's an extremely lean effort with no registration fee or membership dues, relying on teachers to volunteer as managers and coaches.

In fact, the minimal cost was a big draw for the local teams, especially since most aren't financially supported by their school. WHSEC is a great model for cash-strapped districts looking to start a league. So long as a school has five or six decent computers and volunteer coaches, they can compete on the cheap. Even the aging machines in most computer labs can run the free-to-play League of Legends. In fact, the game has such low system requirements that fans commonly joke it can run on a toaster. But even if schools have to buy whole new machines, which might cost between $600 and $800 each, it's still far cheaper than running a traditional sports program, which requires equipment, paid staff and venue rentals.

ESports teams don't even need to travel to compete. Which is a godsend for remote teams in northern Wisconsin that might not be able to afford the four-hour trips to visit other campuses

Like traditional athletics, competitive gaming requires teamwork, communication, performance and sportsmanship. Players develop critical thinking and discipline without the danger of serious injuries that can befall players in high-contact sports like football.

The OCHSEL: Engagement and education

On the last day of January, five-person squads of high school students in Orange County, California sat in their school computer labs and loaded up League of Legends. They were ringing in the first games of the Orange County High School eSports League (OCHSEL). Win or lose, they'd be back in their chairs a week later for the next match in their two-month season.

The OCHSEL in Southern California is a dynamic effort. It was dreamed up by the well-resourced Samueli Foundation in summer 2017, but its organizers needed help. To create a holistic league, they brought on UC Irvine's eSports team and the university's computer science professors to consult, engaged the support of local school districts and created an advisory board of nearby university chancellors, deans and corporate CEOs. Its first season started January 31st, with 38 teams.

After the OCHSEL's first week of matches, principal Anthony Saba of the Samueli Academy charter high school discovered the league was attracting students who typically kept to themselves. They even started performing better to meet the league-wide 2.0 grade point average minimum.

"I'll tell you what it's done for our school is it's allowed us, and it's allowed me, to reach a subset of kids that until this were not engaged. They don't play sports. They don't go to a club. This is their outlet," Saba told Engadget. "We have kids now who've picked up their grades just because they want to be part of this thing."

It didn't take much to convince Saba that his school should join the OCHSEL when it was in development last fall. He admitted to being "a bit of a gamer" and regularly playing some eSports titles with his son.

Tiffany Bui, a life sciences teacher at Mission Viejo High School, was one of several faculty who volunteered to manage the school's team; she was chosen, she believes, because a female coach would draw in more women in a sport dominated by men. It worked, as Mission Viejo's team includes one of the only young women in the entire league. But her recruiting has run up against other obstacles. Players have said they'd love to join, but they had to focus on school. Others said their parents would never allow them to spend so much time playing video games.