Obama Shows ‘Soccket Ball’ Skills In Tanzania

President Obama is an avid basketball player, but showed some multi-athletic skill with a “soccket ball” in Tanzania on Tuesday.

During a power plant tour stop in his Africa trip, Obama and Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete examined a “soccket ball,” which is described by The Washington Post as “a soccer ball that has an electric generator placed inside of it.”

It was invented by two Harvard University grads, and is said to generate electrical power for lights and cell phones after they’re played with for a while.

Handling it like a soccer ball, President Obama tossed it in the air, and kicked it back up to himself when it fell. He also threw it into the air and headed it to himself.

Afterwards, he handed the ball to Kikwete, though the latter didn’t try to duplicate Obama’s athletic feat. Obama then asked how much power the balls generate, and what they cost. He also explained how the device works to the press.

“There is a mechanism inside so that the kinetic energy when you kick the ball creates a battery,” he said. “So now you can power this,” he showed by attaching the ball to a cell phone with a cable.

“You can play with this for two hours and now you’ve got half an hour’s worth of, an hour’s worth…” Obama said.

President Obama said that his administration is distributing the “soccket balls” across Africa during his trip in his attempt to double access to electrical power on the continent.

You can check out a photo of President Obama playing with a “soccket ball” here.

[Image via: spirit of america / Shutterstock]