On Saturday, Feb. 7, high school students gathered together waiting for the few words: “Arm your drones…fly!”

The drone soccer tournament, hosted by Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum, was a district nine qualifier tournament for U.S. Drone Soccer. 

According to Michelle McMahon, Director of Education at Wings, drone soccer is essentially robotics in the air. Students control quadcopters, which are drones with four propellers, that are protected in a light cage, making them 20-centimeter soccer balls. 

The game is played like quidditch in Harry Potter – there are five on the team, with only one able to score. This one is called the Striker, and their goal is to score, come back to mid-center, and go again. Everyone else is a defender.

“We think it’s a great e-sport game because  it gives students drone piloting skills,” explains McMahon. “When they’re 16, they can actually take the UAS Part 107, for the FAA certification.”  

Once students have their certification, they can become professional drone pilots which is a a good onramp to a career pathway, says McMahon. 

Wings Over the Rockies has had their own high school and middle school level drone soccer team for the last five years. McMahon says a lot of schools in the area have similar programs, but do not compete. 

“Some side benefits of something like this is, it’s not only the piloting skills, we also have a bunch of kids that choose not to pilot , but they love mechanical challenges and fixing equipment,” says McMahon. 

Between piloting, mechanics, fixing equipment, and organizational management, McMahon says there are roles for everyone in drone soccer. She explains that kids learn to manage equipment, safely charge batteries, and practice other safety measures. 

Not only that, but kids get to experience what it is like to be on a team. “Through this sport, they learn some of those skills: watching out for each other, helping each other, mentoring each other,” says McMahon. 

She adds that over the last handful of years, she has really seen the drone industry growing, and how much drone soccer has grown in Colorado as well. 

McMahon says her favorite part is competition days and sensing the excitement in the air. She sees all the kids want to do their best and feel a part of the camaraderie. 

“They all belong to different organizations, but when they come here, they want to do the best here. But they support each other either way, which I actually love,” she says. 

Drone soccer tournaments are happening all over the nation. McMahon says with the way it’s growing, there is probably a program near anyone. Laura Turner, who works for the U.S. Drone Soccer Association, says there are more than 350 organizations across the country that have drone soccer equipment.

Wings offers a drone soccer summer camp for 8 to 12-year-olds to get an idea of what the sport is like. “Drone soccer could actually lead to a realistic career. You can  learn how to fly drones really well like this as a 13 or 14-year-old, and be so skilled by the time you’re 16, you’re  employable by the time you pass your Part 107,” McMahon explains. 

One of the teams competing on Saturday was the Smoky Hills High School team from Aurora. Turner says most, if not all, of the team has their Part 107 drone license. She explains that having this can set them up for college, or if they don’t choose college, a lot of students have started drone businesses out of high school as well. “It just opens up a whole lot of career opportunities for these kids,” says Turner. 

For the kids, McMahon says their favorite part is just being part of a team. A lot of them are homeschooled and don’t get the opportunity often. 

“They find themselves being part of something bigger than themselves, and I think that’s always good for kids to have,” says McMahon. 

For more information on drone soccer, check out usdronesoccer.org. Information on the Wings Over the Rockies summer camp can be found here.