海角社区

Tasia Jones will be the first to admit she鈥檚 never been the world鈥檚 most social person. Yet that began to change, last fall, when she saw a flyer on campus that offered her a chance to break out of her shell doing something she loved.

The flyer announced the newly formed was looking for athletes to join the squad. An avid gamer herself, Jones knew she鈥檇 found something right up her alley. Joining the team, it turns out, would be one of the best things to ever happen for her.

鈥淓sports has been good for me. It allows me to be myself around the other players,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no judgment. It鈥檚 a really positive thing. It brings people together.鈥�

Before joining the team, Jones, 30, a Criminal Justice major, from Pottsgrove Township, already achieved a platinum ranking in 鈥淩ocket League,鈥� the vehicular soccer video game the team plays, at home, under the gamer tag 鈥淩edBrokenAngel.鈥�

The single mom of four kids 10 and under said the last time she played a team sport was on her girls鈥� basketball team at Abraham Lincoln High School, in Philadelphia鈥攁n experience she really disliked.

This time, however, she was playing for her school doing something she already loved- and decided to take a chance.

鈥淎t first, it was a new thing. It was a new environment with a lot of people,鈥� she said. Any worries she may have had going in though were quickly washed away once she picked up a controller and started playing the game. 鈥淚t was cool when we started to play as a team. We got to know each other a lot better.鈥�

Normally Mustang eSports practices begin, ironically enough, not on a computer screen, but in the gym for a 55-minute workout. When the team first began playing together at 海角社区鈥檚 West Campus in Pottstown, the workouts included bodyweight exercises like squats, jumping jacks and pushups. When the team moved to the facilities on 海角社区鈥檚 Central Campus in Blue Bell, it had access to all of the different machines in the fitness center, including the elliptical machine and treadmill. 

The workouts, Jones said, were designed to combat a stereotype associated with gamers.

鈥淚t鈥檚 like a negative stigma that gamers are lazy,鈥� she said. 鈥淭o break that stigma, they put us in the gym because it鈥檚 technically a sport. They didn鈥檛 want us to just be sitting down; it had to be physical too.鈥�

After breaking a sweat, the team would divide up into three groups of three: Mustangs Red, Black and White and perform warmup drills in the game. The key to these practices was to foster good communication between players, go over plays and work on their weaknesses. Ryan Plummer, coordinator of Mustangs eSports, said Jones works just as hard as the other athletes on the team-while balancing more responsibility.

鈥淭asia is a really cool person to have on the team,鈥� he said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 a mother, so she鈥檚 balancing a family, her classes and esports at the same time, which is incredible. She also brings great life experience to the team. She鈥檚 a good leader, who takes charge, talks to people and helps them out. She definitely brings an energy to the team. It鈥檚 cool to see her pursue her passion.鈥�

In National Junior College Athletic Association Esports (NJCAAE) league play, the team plays against other colleges across the country. The inaugural season has been educational so far for the players.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been rough. We鈥檝e lost a lot of games, mainly because we didn鈥檛 know each other and had to get better as a team,鈥� said Jones. 鈥淲e鈥檝e gotten better. Our communication has gotten a lot better and we鈥檝e worked on a lot of stuff that we didn鈥檛 have earlier in the season.鈥�

The season took a turn when 海角社区鈥檚 facilities were closed to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The team was forced to play from home, which presented a new series of challenges Jones and her teammates would have to overcome together.

鈥淚t鈥檚 tougher,鈥� said Jones. 鈥淚 have kids but I still get to practice. I still have to do my regular schedule from 3-5 p.m. three days a week. The internet connection issues are different. At the college we were golden. At home it鈥檚 different, but we make it work.鈥�

鈥淓sports is allowing these athletes to stay connected to the college,鈥� said Plummer. 鈥淓ven though they can鈥檛 physically be together, they still practice three days a week for two hours a day and play a league game once a week. We are pushing initiatives forward that allow students to still be involved.鈥�

Playing for a school team has been a positive experience for Jones, overall. She loves wearing her team jersey to classes and being recognized by others on campus. That鈥檚 added to an already positive experience at 海角社区 overall鈥攁 college experience she wished she had when she first graduated from high school in 2008.

Back then, she didn鈥檛 know what she wanted to do with her life. She enrolled at a local community college to find inspiration but didn鈥檛 last long.

鈥淭here was no guidance,鈥� she said, 鈥渘o one to show me anything.鈥� 

When she enrolled at 海角社区 as a part-time student in the fall of 2018, Jones said she chose criminal justice as a major because she wanted to become a detective.  鈥淚f I can make a difference in people鈥檚 lives, why not?鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been through a lot in my life. I lost my best friend. If I can help someone find their loved one, that鈥檚 what鈥檚 inspired me to pursue it the most.鈥� 

Her experience at 海角社区 has been a positive one and has allowed her to grow as a person. She has a mentor on campus in Georgette Howell, an exercise science and wellness associate professor on West Campus, who has inspired Jones to want to become a mentor herself to someone on campus.

When she鈥檚 not playing with the team, Jones said she tries to stay active on campus and regularly volunteers with programs through Career Services;  the Keystone Education Yields Success (KEYS) initiative,  and the Act 101 Scholars Program.

鈥淎t Montco, there are so many supportive people and so many possibilities,鈥� she said. 鈥淣ow I want to get involved. I want to try to help out with student leadership.鈥�

Looks like this new social butterfly has found her wings.