Sky is no longer the limit: Delaware Drone Soccer lifts up teens
WILMINGTON, Delaware (WPVI) -- The newest e-sport on the scene has emerged. Welcome to drone soccer.
The new Delaware Drone Soccer League and its Wilmington team operating out of the Walnut Street YMCA is the newest competitive coed sport for kids 12 and up.
The sport teaches kids aviation, career planning, coding, engineering, teamwork, and most of all, fun.
It's played with the pilot controlling a drone soccer ball, flying through the air in a cage with a striker and a defender each vying to either score or play defense.
Before any flying even starts, students are required to build, program and repair the drone to get to know it better.
Kaysan Salaam is known as the Lebron James of the league due to his penchant for scoring.
"Everyone has a role. If you get knocked down, you're going to say it's too difficult or get discouraged. It takes dedication," said Salaam.
Ashlee Cooper is one of the commissioners of the league. She sees this as more than just fun and games.
"I see an opportunity in the future. Most students these days are training for jobs that won't exist in the future. I see this as early career training," she said.
Fellow commissioner Theo Nix says, "They are learning about technologies that they didn't even know existed. They can learn how to code, how to develop AI, how to build the drone, repair the drone, how to compete together as a team."
He says he has a vision for America.
"I want to create workforce development for drone technology. We teach these kids at a young age and send them around the world to do good whether it's in agriculture and data analytics, doing cell tower inspections, roof inspections, utility line inspections, the whole gamut," said Nix. "There's a $100 billion opportunity for drone technology. These kids can really be a catalyst for a global workforce with America at the forefront."
For more information, check out https://www.dedronesoccer.com and https://www.ymcade.org/locations/walnut-street-ymca
