DRONES

Kyle Sanders, vice president of development for U.S. Drone Soccer, said. “It’s really the communication and teamwork that you see in professional aviation, working on airplanes or preparing for operations.” e sport is just now gaining traction outside of South Korea, Sanders said, where it’s been popular since 2015. But slowly, other countries are coming along. e U.S. National Team is only in its rst competitive year on the international stage, and WHS has been growing its program for three years. ey’re doing it all,” Wilson said. “It’s de nitely getting kids hooked into aerospace education through gami cation.”

“ e goal is to build aerospace programs and career pathways using this fun sport as an introduction program,” Sanders said.

Lottie Wilson, the career and technical education advisor at WHS, called it the gami cation of aerospace education.“ ey’re building them. ey’re programming them. ey’re engineering them.

It’s been a surreal experience for the students, who can polish their skills and meet new people in a fun, brand new environment that’s loved drone soccer for years.

“I hope I get to keep doing this. It’s really fun,” said senior Luis Lechuga, who is attending Metropolitan State University in the fall to study mechanical engineering. “I’m interested in doing aerospace engineering [also]. I never expected to go to South Korea, I just wanted to get involved in ying drones.”

Lechuga and the other seniors in Incheon opted to miss their own graduation to make the trip. Being able to share this experience with like-minded students from all over the world has opened new ways of thinking about aviation and aerospace science, Tran said, and they’ve picked up some tricks from the Korean players along the way.

“I’m able to learn how to communicate, especially with a language barrier. We’re still able to communicate and share ideas with each other, and basically improve together,” Tran said. “It’s a really good and bene cial way to network. I’ve been able to befriend them through this shared passion, and so it’s just really cool.”

Since the program’s inception at WHS, interest has been through the roof, Robbie Ferguson said. Ferguson is the aerospace teacher and drone soccer coach at WHS.

“My students ask to come to practice. ey ask for extra practices all the time,” Ferguson said. “ ey really enjoy being a part of the team and everything that comes with it.” e Pumas didn’t waste any time. Orchard Park nished rst among middle school programs in nationals this past season, and nished fourth overall, beating even the WHS team. Recently, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis visited Orchard Park for a visit and lesson in aerospace acrobatics. e future of drone soccer is bright, particularly along the Front Range. Experienced middle school students will be ready to step in and contribute right away at the high school level. e natural interest in the sport sparks a furious work ethic, and the results show it.

Much of the program is graduating this year, Ferguson said, but fortunately the middle school interest is already signi cant, and continues to grow. Orchard Park Academy in Westminster is in its rst year of its drone soccer program.

“I’m super proud of them. ey work really hard. ey work really well together, so that’s amazing. ey’ve just come a long way in the last couple weeks,” Ferguson said. “ e interest level is just huge. Once you get them in, they’re hooked.”