Castiglione takes on dual leadership role with Cornell Esports

If you’re ever in the Cornell Esports Arena, chances are you’ve seen senior Jack Castiglione.

That’s because he’s the first student to take on a role as a multi-game captain for the Cornell Esports program. 

He helps with managing two teams. That means assisting with organizing two sets of competitions. Two sets of rosters. Two sets of practices. 

“As a dual captain, I’ve really mastered things like confident leadership and communication,” Castiglione said. “Being involved in twice as many matches means twice as many learning opportunities. As a captain, it’s important that my teammates trust me to lead them, which means that I also have to trust myself.”

Of course, he gets help from another Jack–Head Esports Coach Jack VonKampen.

“Jack Castiglione is a great player and an even better leader,” VonKampen said. “Everyone looks up to him because of how he acts and how much time he puts into the program. I’m glad to have him representing the program in multiple games, and he’ll be missed when he graduates.”

Castiglione is the captain of Cornell’s Valorant and Rainbow Six Siege teams. This is his first year as the Valorant captain, but he’s been holding the role for Rainbow Six Siege since he was a first-year student. His duties include registering his teams for leagues and competitions, communicating with the captains of the teams they compete against, and handling the coin flip when the games start. 

“On both teams, I’ve taken what is considered a support role,” Castiglione said. “I enjoy enabling my teammates and the less chaotic position allows me more headspace to work on the strategies we run during matches.”

Castiglione says the position as captain on both teams keeps him busy, but he has learned to balance his esports schedule with the block schedule. 

And that’s important to him because he has found friends that will last a lifetime, saying that the program is “one massive family.” 

“Meeting a ton of people is definitely one of the best parts of this role,” Castiglione said. “When you’re in a leadership position, you really have to put yourself out there and engage with a bunch of people. I wasn’t always the most outgoing guy, especially in high school, so being in this position has really forced me to adapt. I’ve made so many friends that I never would have talked to had it not been for this opportunity.”

Plus as the captain (of two teams) he knows Cornell esports is pretty awesome.

“Don’t get tricked into thinking that a small program like ours can’t compete with the best. For a school of our size, many of our teams play at a really high level,” Castiglione said.

The double major in mathematics and computer science will wrap up his final season as captain on both teams this semester when he graduates in May. 

Castiglione plans to become a software engineer. This dual team leader is also thinking about pursuing a Ph.D. in mathematics. He was inspired by his favorite Cornell class–Modern Algebra 2 with Jim Freeman.