Coach Spotlight - Ryan Plummer - Gateway

Ryan Plummer, head esports coach at Indiana Wesleyan University (IWU), focuses on more than competitive success when working with his students. His esports program emphasizes five key areas of growth: competitive skill, physical health, mental health, academic health and spiritual health. 

“We’re all about growth at IWU. We have five key areas (or pillars) of growth we try to focus on and only one of them is competitive skill. We also focus on Physical Health, Mental Health, Academic Health and lastly, but certainly not least, since we are a Christian School, Spiritual Health. We try to focus on the whole person, not just the game. And because of that, we’ve seen a ton of success both on and off the virtual field,” said Plummer. 

IWU currently competes in Overwatch, Rocket League, Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. This year, Mario Kart will be the program’s title competing in Gateway Esports. Plummer said Gateway Esports’ focus on helping programs grow, rather than simply providing a place to compete, caught his attention. He also saw similarities between Gateway’s approach and IWU’s focus on developing the whole person. 

“I love the model they’ve built around helping programs grow, not just providing a competition space. I think the way they’ve set the league up to be a holistic league, similar to how our program is a holistic program, meshes really well with our program. Not to mention, they offer Mario Kart as a varsity option, which is pretty rare among most leagues!” said Plummer. 

This is IWU’s first year competing with Gateway Esports, which is also in its first year. While Plummer said it is too early to determine the league’s overall value, he already appreciates events such as Media Week and what they bring to the program. 

“It’s hard to say, since this is our first year competing with them and the first year for the league. But I already love the value events like Media Week bring to our program!” said Plummer. 

Beyond competition, Plummer sees esports as an opportunity to reach students who may not otherwise become involved with the university. He said the program helps students develop life skills, become part of the campus community and grow as individuals. 

“With Esports, we have an awesome opportunity to reach students that wouldn’t normally be reached. We get to teach them life skills, bring them into our overall campus community and, the biggest thing for me, we get to grow them as people, not just competitors,” said Plummer. 

Plummer said communication, time management and leadership are among the skills students develop through esports. At IWU, he also incorporates faith into that development. 

“The list of benefits to esports could be endless! But some of the big ones are communication skills, time management skills and leadership skills. Not to mention, we get to dive into their faith and help them grow closer to Christ, which is the most important skill for our school,” said Plummer. 

IWU views esports as both a recruiting and community-building opportunity. Plummer said the program brings students to the university who may not have otherwise known about IWU while also giving those students and others a community that helps them stay involved on campus. 

“Not only are we bringing in students who otherwise wouldn’t even know about our university if it weren’t for esports, but we also get to give them and other students a community that helps them engage and stay involved on campus,” said Plummer. 

Through his own experience in collegiate esports, Plummer said he has also learned more about himself. He has developed a better understanding of his communication and leadership style and found ways to apply those lessons outside of esports. 

“I’ve learned a ton about myself that I never thought I would through esports. I’ve learned my communication and leadership style and how to integrate that into other areas of my life as well. That’s helped me become a better coach, but also, a better person,” said Plummer. 

As IWU prepares for its first Gateway Esports season, Plummer has a straightforward goal for the program. “To win a National Championship!” said Plummer. 

With the first Gateway season approaching, Plummer said the IWU program is ready to get started and hit the ground running.