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Ashland University welcomes Fiscus as esports head coach

The Highland County Press - Staff Photo - Create Article
PJ Fiscus. (Shawnee State University photo)
By
Caleb Crowley, Director of Creative Services - Athletics, https://goashlandeagles.com

Ashland University esports welcomed its third head coach, Phillip "PJ" Fiscus, on Monday (Sept. 9).

Fiscus joins Eagle esports after a five-year collegiate career with Shawnee State sports. (Editor's note: He is a graduate of Lynchburg-Clay High School.)

Before his collegiate career, Fiscus began competitive esports at 15 years old, competing in various tournaments on Gfinity for Rocket League and Call of Duty.

Upon reaching college, Fiscus became the first in-person signing for Shawnee Esports, joining the Rocket League team. In his first year, the Rocket League team competed in NACE Starleague, narrowly missing the Grand Finals but finishing the season in the top four in the nation.

A new vision

When discussing his new position at Ashland, Fiscus spoke about his vision for the future of the program.

"I expect to learn everything about my roster, down to their play styles, personalities and team chemistry," Fiscus said about his expectations for his first year. "I am always looking to my coaches and captains to help me learn things about some of our offered games that I don't know too much about."

With a background in Rocket League and Call of Duty, Fiscus takes over a program offering a wide range of other titles, including Fortnite, Overwatch 2, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate and Counter-Strike 2. Fiscus discussed his mentality to lean on the expertise of assistant and supplementary coaches in the program to develop a better understanding of these titles in order to better serve the rest of the program.

His mentality speaks to a wide trend in esports, as most coaches have competitive experience in a small portion of games, but the landscape itself is varied to dozens of competitive games. This has created an environment in which assistant coaches focus on particular games with an overseeing head coach managing the entire program and adapting their knowledge as new titles surge in popularity.

As for the future of Eagle esports, Fiscus presented a positive growth mindset and a desire to foster a "true collegiate athletic experience" for the teams.

"I am always looking to give our players a great experience that is all-intensive as well as a true semi-professional experience," he said. "I can see the talent that we have now, and I hope to elevate that through recruiting and professional coaching."

Beyond esports, Fiscus played traditional sports prior to college, which he believes gives him a unique perspective to bridge the gap between traditional athletics and the emerging esports world. It is not hard to recognize a stark contrast between traditional athletics and esports, but the competitive nature and desire to improve and win still remain. Fiscus' mindset suggests a collaborative approach that matches the beloved sports history at Ashland University.

Building a legacy in Eagle Nation

Ashland athletics is known for countless stellar programs, athletes and coaches. With less than a decade of history since its inception in 2018, Eagle esports is still in its infancy and is carving its legacy in Ashland. Fiscus recognizes this and spoke on the importance that esports brings to the modern athletic scene.

"I believe esports can be one of the most important programs in any college's athletics," Fiscus said. "This comes with the outreach that esports leagues and tournaments really bring. You have smaller colleges taking on colleges like Ohio State, Alabama and Michigan, where those bigger colleges are actually the underdogs. Esports are also very easily accessible where facilities are easy to set up, with over 300 college programs across North America officially having an esports team or program."

Because of esports' non-traditional setup, collegiate competitions are not NCAA-affiliated, leading to universities playing against teams that would not commonly be seen during traditional competitions.

Through in-person tournaments and online play, Ashland University frequently competes against nationally-renowned teams, including Ohio State. This new playing field permits any esports program to stake a claim in the overall scene. Eagle esports has competed in national playoffs at the highest level of competition, making deep runs in NACE Starleague Varsity Premier.

Fiscus enters Ashland with a driven devotion to achieving and defining greatness. In its seventh year as a part of Eagle Nation, Ashland esports continues to pave a new path and keep the university at the cutting edge of the growing collegiate athletics world.
 
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