Teen black belt hopes for big break, seeks votes in national contest for Youth Athlete of the Year

David Cobbey, a Taekwon-do black belt student from McCandless, can be one step closer to becoming the Youth Athlete of the Year if he gets the most online votes by Sept. 18.

Winners will be featured in a 3Brand advertisement in Sports Illustrated and receive $25,000.

Now a quarter-finalist, anyone can help Cobbey, 17, make it to the next round by casting their free daily vote via Zang Taekwon-Do’s Facebook page or by visiting athleteoftheyear.org/2025/david-0b25.

“My child is a quiet, humble child, and he doesn’t look for the limelight. He’s one who works exceedingly hard at everything he does and he flies under the radar,” said Heather Cobbey, David’s mother and a teacher at North Hills Middle School.

The Youth Athlete of the Year is an online competition where the winner will be featured in a 3Brand advertisement in Sports Illustrated and take home $25,000.

“I’m very proud of my son and proud of the hard work he put into everything. The scholarship would mean the world to him,” she said.

Donation votes also can be made via Facebook or the website, with the money going toward the V Foundation for cancer research and the Why Not You Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting poverty through education. The higher the donation, the more votes gained.

Competitors from across the nation were placed in various groups since July. Votes are counted every week with the next deadline is at 7 p.m. Sept. 18. The top vote-getter in their group competes with other group winners, until the last round of votes on Oct. 2, when the finalist will be determined, according to Heather Cobbey.

The contest is for athletes ages 7 to 17, and Cobbey has consistently made the cut since the start.

The North Allegheny senior is a fourth-degree black belt at Zang Taekwon-do in Pine, where he also helps to teach classes. He has 10 Grand Champion titles and volunteers for a project teaching orphans taekwon-do at a school in Kenya via YouTube.

Cobbey has been studying with Grand Master Robert Zang since he was 3, said Zang, who opened his studio in Pine in 2009. He has been teaching since 1995.

“He is a great role model for all of my students here,” said Zang, a Pine resident. “Technically, he is probably one of the best students I taught.”

Zang said Cobbey embodies the good values that make up the taekwon-do moral code.

“He’s humble. He’s respectful. Kids love him there. He’s a great leader,” said Zang, who also teaches taekwon-do at Provident Charter School in the North Side.

At a recent tournament in Buffalo, N.Y., Cobbey qualified to compete in the adult category. Zang said Cobbey was an underdog because of his age, but he still managed to win Grand Champion titles there.

He said Cobbey has a great work ethic.

“Taekwon-do has always been a big part of my life ever since I was young. It was always a welcoming environment to grow as a person,” David Cobbey said.

He appreciates the values that the ancient art embodies.

“It teaches you to be a better person,” he said. “It really teaches discipline and respect for other people.”

As far as making it to the quarterfinals, Cobbey said it’s a testament to the time and energy he put into the sport.

“It just shows I’m growing as a person. My hard work is really paying off,” he said.

Cobbey wants to study biomedical engineering in college. If he wins the $25,000, he said he would use it toward school and, hopefully, to help others.

The sportswear company 3Brand is owned by professional football athlete Russell Wilson and his wife Ciara, a Grammy-award singer. The fundraiser is organized by Colossal.