ROME — The Rome City School District Board of Education got a crash course - sometimes literally - in flying remote-controlled quadcopter drones last week during a special Drone Soccer Club presentation at Mohawk Valley Community College.

Rome Free Academy student members of the club paired off with school board members to show them how to work remote control devices that fly the drones.

The drones are encased in a plastic protective sphere to lessen damage from impact. And, there were certainly many impacts — either drone-to-drone or drone-to-floor with the novice pilots at the controls.

(See video here.)

Rome Free Academy junior Tylor Graf volunteered to stand before the board members — who moved their regular meeting from the district office to MVCC specifically for the presentation — and update them on the Drone Soccer Club.

Graf explained there are four defenders and one striker flying within a playing field surrounded by netting to keep the drones inside. The object is to fly the drone through a circular hoop, Graf said, earning a point for the goal. If the striker goes out of play then one of the defenders takes over, he added.

Drone soccer is a challenging but fun sport, Graf said.

"I've been doing this for a few months now and it is really enjoyable," he said.

Dan Michaels, the drone adjunct instructor at MVCC, explained the Drone Soccer Club is a part of the GEAR UP program, an acronym for "Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs."

GEAR UP helps prepare high school students for both college and the workplace by teaching them skills focusing on critical thinking, communications, information, media literacy, initiative, productivity and science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

The Drone Soccer Club is only in its third month and currently includes sophomores and juniors from RFA. GEAR UP Director Todd Kubica said next year it follows that cohort as juniors and seniors and then after that seniors and first-year college students. The GEAR UP grant funding the drone program is for three years, Kubica noted, and they will seek another grant after that to keep it going.

"This is a great segue to any STEM program and helps funnel the kids into careers that will help them lead fruitful lives," Kubica said.

Rome City School District Superintendent Peter Blake complimented both the program and the partnership.

"This is a great program and I am glad that MVCC wanted to partner with us," Blake said. "This is a great demonstration of our partnership with MVCC and I look forward to seeing it growing over the coming years."