Two UW-Stout Polytechnic esports student athletes will bring their competitive and leadership experience to the high school level after being selected as coaches by Durand-Arkansaw School District for the 2026-27 esports season. Jonathan Myszka and Sam Mead have been recruited to serve as esports coaches for Durand-Arkansaw High School, bringing collegiate competitive experience, leadership and mentorship to the school’s growing esports program.
DAHS Esports Coach Kaitlyn Bero, 2025 National Association of Esports Coaches and Directors (NAECAD) K12 Coach of the Year and Wisconsin High School Esports Association (WIHSEA) president, said the relationship began through connections with UW-Stout Polytechnic esports and later strengthened through visits to campus and continued collaboration.
“When the opportunity arose to bring in an assistant coach while knowing UW-Stout Polytechnic offers an esports coaching minor, it seemed like an amazing fit for both of our programs,” Bero said.
Myszka, a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering, competes for the university’s Valorant team. Earlier this year, Myszka was hired as the Valorant coach at DAHS after completing his freshman season with the Blue Devils. During the spring 2026 WIHSEA season, Myszka helped students improve their competitive skills while emphasizing teamwork, communication, leadership and sportsmanship. Myszka has now accepted another coaching position at Durand-Arkansaw with their Fortnite team for the winter 2026 season.
“Coach Myszka not only met but exceeded expectations,” Bero said. “Myszka took time to plan drills, video on demand reviews and lessons that met each individual team member where they were. He encouraged students to take on leadership roles, speak out and speak up, making sure every voice was heard. Myszka not only encouraged growth of the team’s skills in Valorant, but pushed them to be successful in academics and hold themselves and their teammates accountable. It’s because of this success that we’re excited for the opportunity to work with more UW-Stout Polytechnic esports athletes in the future. I know that students coming out of the UW-Stout Polytechnic program not only care about the game, but the player behind the machine as well.”
Likewise, Durand-Arkansaw students said the student coach helped boost their esports program.
“Having Coach Myzska help me learn Valorant was awesome,” said high school senior Jae Hayden. “He was easy to talk to and really encouraging, which made the game way less intimidating. I’m glad he was part of my introduction to esports. It helps to have a coach in the room who can point out what’s holding you back. Having them there really encourages the team to improve, and they can show us how to do that.”
Building on the success of Myszka’s work with the program, Durand-Arkansaw is also looking forward to working during the fall season with Mead, a senior majoring in animation and digital media. Mead competes for the university’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate team and brings extensive competitive and leadership experience, including a multi-year high school career, more than three years competing for UW-Stout Polytechnic esports, service as captain of the university’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate team, and experience leading youth summer camps.
“I’m most excited to give these players a fun, productive and hopefully successful season,” Mead said of the upcoming opportunity. “High school esports is something I remember quite fondly, and I would like to give that outlook to other young esports players. I plan to implement a lot of practice methods that we use here at UW-Stout Polytechnic. Video on demand or VOD review is key to the improvement process, but knowing how to properly watch past recorded gameplay is a hard practice to master. I plan to teach these players a lot of good strategies to do so.”
These positions reflect the growing connection between collegiate and high school esports, creating opportunities for student-athletes to develop leadership and coaching skills while supporting younger players in their competitive and personal growth. The coaching positions also showcase the career and leadership opportunities being created through collegiate esports programs.
UW-Stout Polytechnic Head Coach Aaron Froelich said he was excited about the continued collaboration with Durand-Arkansaw High School. “This partnership reflects our commitment to the polytechnic principles at UW-Stout Polytechnic while providing meaningful leadership opportunities for our students,” he said.
Froelich said both Myszka and Mead are well suited for coaching roles.
“Both of these student-athletes are going to be fantastic leaders and mentors at the high school level,” he said. “They bring high-level competitive experience along with the personalities and character needed to coach youth activities.”
The hires reflect how the university’s polytechnic approach extends into esports, which provides students opportunities to apply coaching, leadership and program development skills in real-world settings. The partnership also highlights the growing impact of esports beyond competition, providing UW-Stout Polytechnic student-athletes with hands-on coaching experience while creating new opportunities for Durand-Arkansaw students to develop as competitors, teammates and leaders. Both programs hope the collaboration will continue to create pathways from high school esports participation to collegiate competition and career development.
