There was quite a buzz at SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly) in the Utica area over the weekend. The sound of dozens of drones filled the space inside the Wildcat Field House on Sunday for the U.S. Drone Soccer 2026 District II Championship.
Sixteen teams of students, ages 12-18 from around the region, took part in the competition. Drone soccer is a game where students piloting drones inside a netted enclosure try to score points by getting their drones through the opposing team’s goal.
Some people have compared drone soccer, which has been around for several years now, to the fictional game of Quidditch popularized in the Harry Potter movies. There were no participants using flying broomsticks in Sunday’s event in the town of Marcy, but there was plenty of shouting and good-natured competition including family and friends watching from the bleachers.
John Reade is Director of Pre-Collegiate Outreach at SUNY Poly and he is also part of the university’s Office of Workforce Development. Reade said these middle and high school-aged students can learn a lot by getting involved in drone soccer.
“It gives these kids the ability to learn technical skills, like being able to pilot, build a drone, code it, crash, repair, all that, but it also gives them the professional skills like teamwork, leadership,” Reade said.
Lillie Kneller is a student at the Owego-Apalachin school district in the Southern Tier. She hopes this experience will someday lead to a career in military aviation.
“I like the community, the teamwork, the people,” said Kneller. “I like how it will set me up for my future. I want to be a pilot, so it sets me up nicely for that. It gives me experiences, gets me able to talk to people, I got to talk to the Air National Guard last year at Nationals.”
Another student, Pierce Murphy of the Little Falls school district in the Mohawk Valley, also likes the vibe at drone soccer events like the one held at SUNY Poly.
“Everybody knows each other,” said Murphy, “and it's a good way to compete, friendly, in a way. (It) teaches you a whole bunch of technical stuff too. That kind of helps out a lot in later years, too.” Murphy said participating in drone soccer has given him some career ideas, including the possibility of pursuing a path toward flying agricultural drones.
The top three winners from Sunday’s competition will now move on to compete in the national championship for drone soccer, which takes place in May in Florida.
The top winners from the SUNY Poly event are:
- 1st place - Riverhawks Red from Owego Apalachin Central School District
- 2nd place - M-W Gold from Madrid-Waddington Central School District
- 3rd place - Bath Rams from Bath Central School District