National Skydiving League founder Kurt Gaebel used to play soccer to get his kicks. Gaebel started playing as a kid and eventually advanced to various semi-pro leagues before knee injuries booted him from the sport. Looking for a safer and easier-on-the-knees alternative, Gaebel made the leap into skydiving. No bruising defenders to sweep past. Just a lot of hot air. "He was always getting his knees hurt playing soccer," said Gaebel's wife, Becky. "It's kind of funny he got hurt playing soccer and decided to start skydiving." Gaebel jumped into the sport with the same energy he flashes when diving from an airplane 12,000 feet above land. Three years ago, he founded the NSL in unison with the Florida Skydiving League, which is holding its eighth meet of the season Sunday at Skydive City. During its inaugural season, the NSL had teams from Florida, Texas and Georgia compete for the league championship. Today, the NSL consists of more than a dozen state leagues holding meets throughout the year. At the end of the regular season, the top team from each state league advances to compete in the NSL national meet, which is going to be at Skydive DeLand this fall. Though the league has caught on with extreme athletes, Gaebel wants more. "This is not even close to being what it could be," Gaebel said. "I believe that the NSL as an entity can make some good money some day. I believe long-team skydivers can be professional athletes on the same level, like where soccer is right now. I'm sure that there would be many skydiving competitors out there right now who would be willing to go professional with an annual salary of $30,000."

One of the teams competing this weekend is Z-Spot, which is based at Skydive City in Zephyrhills. Team members Wendy Hoogsteden, Mike Hoogsteden, Ellen Jamett and Jim VandeVelden are no strangers to top-flight competition. The foursome won the U.S. Parachute Association national championship in the Advanced Class last year in Arizona. This season, Z-Spot is ranked third in the FSL standings. Wendy Hoogsteden said a meet of this caliber is always a test. "The best skydiving teams from all over the state are going to be here," she said. "We have had our good meets and our bad meets. We're hoping we have our bestmeet." Z-Spot finished third in its last meet on May 23 at Skydive Space Center in Titusville. In the FSL standings, Z-Spot (45 points) trails DeLand Genesis (53) and Frost (52) for the league title. The league has four meets remaining following this weekend. Teams compete in three divisions: Open Class, Advanced Class and Intermediate Class. The four-person teams - skill level determining class - compete in six rounds. Each round consists of one jump per team in which each team has 35 seconds to complete a sequence of formations. The jumps are videotaped and scoring is based on a review of the tape. First place in Sunday's event is $500.

Gaebel wants more. "My vision is a mini-NBA or mini-NFL," he said. "Of course, I'm very aware that the NSL can never be as big or popular as the big-league sports. But there are niches...for projects like this. We are top athletes. It's unique; it's flight; it's flying. That's our sports arena."