D.C. brothers became esports champions years after mom threw Xbox off the balcony

Sherry Williams has tempered her view of video games since 2020, when, frustrated by her sons’ lack of focus on schoolwork, she threw the family Xbox off the balcony of her town house in Bowie, Maryland.

Four years and two national championships, multiple college scholarship offers and a couple of potential careers later, the single mom is more open-minded about the hours her boys, Taylor and Tyler Frost, spend playing “NBA 2K.”

Ms. Williams said esports — organized video game competitions for individuals and teams — have opened countless doors for her sons.

Revising her thinking on the boys’ beloved hobby “has been pretty amazing,” she said. “It’s been the best decision ever.”

Taylor and Tyler are young juggernauts in the “2K” esports space. Taylor, 18, won the 2023 “NBA 2K” high school national championship organized by the esports platform PlayVS. Tyler, 17, followed with a title this year.

Nowadays, mom is all-in on esports. She even watches replays of her sons’ top matches, including their national championship games.

Video games used to be public enemy No. 1 in the Williams household.

During the COVID-19 shutdowns, the Frost boys took classes online. Taylor skipped lessons to play video games instead.

“I was playing the game at a time when I wasn’t really supposed to,” he said. “She got tired of it because I wasn’t following directions.”

Ms. Williams tried hiding the gaming console.

Taylor inevitably found it and returned to the comfort of virtual basketball.

“That was probably how he coped with being away from friends, not being in class in person,” she said. “We’re talking some really good hiding places and he was still finding it. He didn’t care that he was going to get in trouble.”

One day, Ms. Williams had had enough. The Howard alumna chucked the Xbox off the balcony outside her bedroom.

“I didn’t know another way to let him know how serious I was,” she said.

It worked. After that, Taylor understood that his mother meant business.

“I didn’t think I was ever going to touch a video game again,” he said.

The Xbox survived after bouncing off the pavement.

“I had no idea that that moment would get us here,” Ms. Williams said.

She and her sons eventually moved from Prince George’s County to the District of Columbia, where her sons enrolled at Eastern High School and discovered esports. That changed things.

Eastern esports

The esports club at Eastern offered a structured environment where the Frost boys could play with other youths and work on skills such as teamwork, communication and perseverance.

For Ms. Williams, the impact on academics outweighed all other concerns. Her children had to keep their grades up to participate.

The first academic quarter after joining the esports team, Taylor made the honor roll for the first time since elementary school.

“I’d never heard of an esports team or anything like that. I was just excited I got to play video games at school, but it’s like how any other sport is: You have to keep your grades up,” he said. “It made me want to do better in school so I could keep playing.”

A 2024 survey by PlayVS found that 60% of esports coaches saw improved grades or attendance in their students. The report also said 45% of students were more excited to attend school after joining an esports club.

“The whole reason we did this esports club is so we could leverage more touch points with students. A lot of students suffered from a lack of touch points during the pandemic,” said Matt James, the esports coach at Eastern. “[Esports] are a hugely positive thing because it gives more eyeballs on each kid.”

Mr. James is a typical coach. He teaches strategies and helps gamers hone their skills.

For exceptional players, such as the Frosts, the coach becomes more like the cornerman for a championship boxer.

“I check in with them and make sure their head is right on game day, making sure they eat and their grades are up, making sure their mental game is on point,” Mr. James said.

He said he also encourages the Frosts to talk through their strategies between games.

As Mr. James notes, video games and esports are no longer niche activities reserved for basements and sleepovers. The Frosts take gaming seriously, and the infrastructure is growing to support them.

PlayVS now operates high school leagues where players can test their mettle against other gamers nationwide.

The system is similar to that of any other sport. The top players and teams can win playoff matches against others in their region for a shot at a national title.

The old college try

The esports environment at a university will be a massive factor as the Frosts continue their education.

They will start their college careers with $2,500 scholarships from PlayVS for their national titles. Both said they want to keep playing “NBA 2K” after high school.

Collegiate esports also make financial sense for the brothers. Many universities offer esports teams and financial assistance for top players.

The Frosts earned a tentative scholarship offer from Howard University after dominating an “NBA 2K” tournament as the only high schoolers in a field of college students.

“I really didn’t know that you could go to school on something like that,” Taylor said. “That was a surprise to me.”

Taylor has one class left to earn his high school diploma. The 18-year-old could have graduated last school year, but he is applying for a medical waiver to play one more season of (real-world) high school basketball after losing last season to a knee injury.

He is keeping his postsecondary education options open, though he noted a collegiate gaming career could be in his future.

Tyler, who takes college-level classes through Eastern’s International Baccalaureate program, is slated to graduate next year. He hasn’t committed to any university but is considering Villanova, George Mason and Howard — and their esports teams.

Paid to play

Though they may take different paths, the Frost brothers have their eyes on the same prize: the NBA 2K League. The Washington Wizards are among the 22 NBA franchises that operate esports teams in the spring. Each team has five top NBA 2K players who square off in in-person and virtual matchups.

Wizards District Gaming, the Wizards’ 2K League affiliate, has embraced the Frosts. The professional gamers visited Eastern High School to share their experiences with students and invited the Frosts to District E, an esports arena, to get a taste of the professional environment.

“We got to learn new tips and tricks from the 2K players. That was pretty neat, a pretty good learning experience,” Tyler said.

One professional player, Xavier “Type” Vescovi, has taken Taylor under his wing. Taylor said he might skip or delay his collegiate goals if he can join the NBA 2K League for the 2025 season.

The 18-year-old must perform well at a series of preliminary events to qualify for the 2K League draft.

“It would be pretty cool to play in the 2K League because it’s something I could do as a job professionally and also get to do my favorite thing: playing video games,” he said. “It means a lot to me.”

Regardless of what the future holds, the Frost brothers are more prepared thanks to their esports experience, their mother said.

“I want people to know this is an option. It’s not just playing the game. There’s so many parts that fall under esports,” she said. “You may have a kid that’s interested in computers or the marketing side of things. There’s so many layers to it.”