ASHEBORO, N.C. — Some schools in the state are taking soccer to a new height — to the sky, that is.
What You Need To Know
- Drone soccer is played by a drone in a sphere trying to make a goal
- Asheboro High School started its team a few months ago
- The team won a regional title in Virginia in March
- Asheboro High will compete in the U.S. Drone Soccer National Championship at the end of April
Asheboro High School is taking part in drone soccer, a sport combining the principles of soccer with skills of STEM, aviation and team-building.
“I was just super into it, which is really interesting. I like messing with stuff and that's kind of like how it all started,” said Jaycoll Reyes, a sophomore at Asheboro High School on the drone soccer team.
The team has been meeting for a few months, led by coach Wendy Graham, who teaches biology at the school.
“I had to learn how to build the drone and everything myself," Graham said. "And then after that, we put feelers out for students that might be interested. We brought the arena here."
"We got a few drones up and running and try to get excitement by just flying them at parent nights and sometimes for the students and different classes would come and check it out,” she said.
The students on the team build, program and learn how to fly the drones, and each one finds a niche to help the success of the team.
“You have to be very sensitive, be very attentive," Reyes said. "And then, plus, it's hard when you have all the drones flying at your face and on the net. It's kind of hard to keep track of yours."
Five students play on a team during the match, with the positions of keeper, sweeper, center, striker and forward. Each drone is programmed differently to fit the needs of the position.
Reyes, a striker, tries to fly the drone shaped like a soccer ball through a hoop to score a point.
“Mine is a bit faster. So, I've sent mine to react more, which makes it hard to fly,” Reyes said.
After the matches, students tinker with the programming of the drone to better their game play.
“Because it's not like the drones that you get from the store, that you take it out of the box. And they seem to work perfectly. These ones have to be fine-tuned and their position,” Graham said.
After a few months of practice, Asheboro High, one of the handful of schools in the state that have a drone program, traveled to Virginia in its first regional tournament in March and took home the title.
“We are just really excited that we have this opportunity… we're hoping that we'll have more teams in North Carolina to really become involved and have some tournaments here and in our state to give the opportunity for more students here in North Carolina to learn how to fly the drones in a competitive manner,” Graham said.
Asheboro High will compete again at Virginia Tech for the national championships at the end of April. International soccer drone tournaments as well as other drone sports are more common in South Korea and Germany, but the sports are gaining traction in the United States.
“I think this needs more recognition, honestly," Reyes said. "Think it will develop into some bigger, bigger sport."