“Who in here is a gamer?” I once asked my class.
It was almost a rhetorical question.
Unsurprisingly, hands shot up everywhere… and the overwhelming majority belonged to boys.
Later that day, though, I walked past a table where three girls from that same class were hunched over a phone, talking about a match they had later that evening.
These girls were gamers. But none of them had raised their hands.
Why?
Because they didn’t think I was talking about them.
They played video games, but they didn’t think of themselves as “gamers.” In their minds, a gamer was someone who either played certain games, talked about gaming all the time, and, more often than not, looked like one of the boys who had just raised his hand.
So when I asked who considered themselves a gamer, they unconsciously filtered themselves out.
Perhaps this is why so many esports teams end up looking the way they do. Sometimes the problem isn’t a lack of interest. It’s a lack of identification.
The talent is already in your building. It is sitting in your classrooms, walking through your hallways and playing games constantly. But some of those students have never considered themselves the kind of person an esports program is looking for.
That changes the challenge entirely.
Building a more inclusive esports program isn’t just about getting more students interested in gaming. It’s about making sure the students who are already interested recognize that the invitation includes them.
So how do you do that?
If Girls Already Play, Why Aren't They on the Team?
First, we need to clear up an assumption I hear all the time: esports rosters skew male because girls simply aren’t into gaming. The numbers tell a very different story. According to Pew Research, 75% of teen girls play video games. That’s three out of four.
But if they are playing, what's keeping them off the team?
Part of the answer goes right back to that classroom moment. Many girls who play video games still don’t identify as gamers. In fact, Pew Research found that when asked if they would call themselves a gamer, 62% of boys said yes, while only 17% of girls said the same.
Think about that: 75% of teen girls play video games, but only 17% call themselves gamers.
That’s a massive gap between participation and identity. Girls are playing, but many have decided the word “gamer” doesn’t describe them. So if your esports program only markets itself to “gamers,” you may be speaking to an audience that has already tuned you out.
Your job isn’t to convince girls to start gaming. It’s to help the girls who are already gaming see that your team was created with them in mind.
What Does an Inclusive Roster Actually Require?
First and foremost, you need to stop picturing an esports team as star players and a bench. The moment your program is only about who frags the hardest, you've built the exact environment that pushes newcomers out.
And there’s research behind this. A 2025 study in Current Issues in Education, found that competition-only esports settings tend to reproduce the same old gender roles, while collaborative work in areas like design and coding can help bring female students into the experience.
So when I talk about building an inclusive roster, I don’t just mean inviting more girls to sign up and hoping they stay. You need to look at what they are walking into once they arrive.
If a girl is the only one in the room, or if she feels like she has to prove she belongs from day one, she likely won't stay. The same is true if the loudest and most experienced players control everything.
That’s why you need to build a program where beginners can actually be beginners, where students can contribute in different ways, and where competitive play sits alongside things like strategy, design, leadership, content, and game development.
Culture matters just as much as recruitment. If sexist jokes get brushed off, voice chat becomes hostile, or newer players barely get a chance to speak, the roster may look more diverse on paper without actually being inclusive.
The goal isn't simply to get more girls through the door. It’s to build the kind of team they want to stay a part of.
So How Do You Build an Inclusive School Esports Team?
Knowing what an inclusive team should feel like is one thing. Building that culture on purpose is another. In my experience, it usually comes down to a handful of choices you make before the first match is ever played. Here are five places to start.
- Recruit from the Seats You’re Not Watching
If you only recruit from the students already hanging around the gaming club, you’re likely to get more of the same students.
Look beyond the obvious places. Visit art classes, coding clubs, media programs, student leadership groups and journalism classes.
Your goal is to find the students your current recruitment efforts are missing instead of waiting for them to find you.
- Invite Them by Name
If you’re an educator, you know that a general announcement can disappear into the background pretty quickly, which is why a personal invitation can make all the difference.
If you have a student who loves games, video editing, strategy, design, streaming, or technology, tell them exactly why you think they could have a place on the team.
That personal invitation can be especially important for girls who already assume esports isn't meant for them. Sometimes hearing, “I think you would be good at this,” from a teacher or coach is the nudge that gets a student through the door.
- Give Every Player a Real Job
The last thing you want is students sitting around feeling like they are only there because the program is trying to look inclusive.
Give everyone something meaningful to contribute. That may mean competing, analyzing matches, helping with strategy, managing social content, producing broadcasts, organizing events, designing graphics, or helping run practices.
Students need to see where they fit and know their contribution actually matters to the team.
- Say the Code of Conduct Out Loud On Day One
Never assume everyone has the same definition of “just joking.” If sexist comments, harassment, trash talk, or exclusion are not acceptable, students need to hear that clearly before problems start.
Put the expectations in writing and talk through them with the whole team. Make it clear what happens when someone crosses a line.
Most importantly, enforce it. A code of conduct means very little if students don’t believe the adults running the program will stand behind it.
- Rotate the Jobs in Early Scrimmages
Give students room to try more than one role instead of immediately deciding who belongs where. Students often have talents they haven’t discovered yet, so give them the opportunity to experiment.
Let the confident player try analysis while the quiet student calls strategy. Let the student who came for content creation sit in on a scrimmage. Let beginners play without feeling like every mistake is an audition.
Those early rotations give students a chance to discover what they are good at before the roster hardens into the same handful of voices doing everything.
That’s when inclusion becomes real. Students aren’t just being told there is a place for them. They’re getting the chance to find that place for themselves.
What Happens When Students Actually Feel Like They Belong?
When you build a team where students feel wanted, useful and comfortable enough to keep showing up, you are not just creating a better esports program. You may be giving some students a reason to stay connected to school in the first place.
In fact, research compiled by NASEF points to a Riverside County study where students involved in esports had a 33.5% lower absence rate than students who were not in the program. That makes sense to me, because I’ve said time and time again that kids show up for the places where they feel like somebody would notice if they were missing.
And the value doesn’t stop when the match ends. More than half of teen players in the Pew survey said gaming has helped sharpen their problem-solving skills, and an esports program gives students somewhere to put those skills to work. They learn to communicate, solve problems, lead, create, organize, and work with other people toward something that matters to them.
That is why I don’t think a student has to go pro for esports to have meant something. If a student found a room where they belonged, it meant something. If they discovered something they were good at and left with skills and confidence they can carry into whatever comes next, the program did something worthwhile.
So Where Does Your Program Start? With USAEL
Building an inclusive esports program takes more than opening the doors and hoping different students walk through them. It takes the right structure, culture, curriculum and coaching.
At the United States Academic Esports League, that’s exactly what we help schools build. Our curriculum, competitive opportunities, student roles and coach training are designed to help schools create programs where more students can find a place to belong and grow.
If you're ready to build an academic esports program at your school, book a demo, and we’ll show you how to get started.
