Re: 2013 Alamo Regional
 

After all of this, the finals was a match of the under dogs.
Seed 3 VS.4 was unexpected even after all of this bad luck, there was still a Cinderella ending for our team (3997) and 801.
It was a hard fought, but a very good match from 4th seed!
We'll see y'all again at worlds! :)

Re: 2013 Alamo Regional
 

FRC 2468 would like to extend our Appreciation to FRC 2789 and FRC 4063 for competing with us at the Alamo Regional. Exploding Bunny Appreciation was a blast to be a part of. It was great fun and very exciting to compete together. The teams worked well together and altered strategy throughout the matches to pull off the Championship win. It was nice to be on the same team with you guys rather than be competing against you as we did at Hub City tournament.

We had a great time meeting FRC 801 and FRC 1592 in San Antonio. Working with you teams in the pits on Thursday on other teams robots was a blast. We hope to get out to Orlando to compete with you guys some time. Thanks to both teams for helping out with scouting though out the tournament. You guys showed what FIRST core values are all about especially after your unfortunate events earlier this year with your robot. Many teams benefited as well as the tournament with your presence. Brad and Bobby, your teams are fortunate to have you as Coaches/Mentors.

Congrats to FRC2789's Jeff Erickson on your Woodie Flowers award. It is very well deserved. It was a pleasure to be on the field with the other WFA to congratulate you.

As always it was great to compete with long time foes such as FRC 2587, FRC 57 FRC 1477 and FRC 624.

Thanks to the volunteers, judges, inspectors, referees and field crew for running such a great tournament. Kudos to Patrick and Jess for the tournament organization and the new mentor lounge. I never got to visit but was nice to know there was for us to retreat to.

At AllenGregoryIV, we did have to make some adjustments to our full court shooter and strategy due to the conditions of the frisbees. At Hub City, the frisbees were all new and shot as we had tested at home with frisbees that had not gone through the treatment they get on the field. It was nice to see the inclusion of some newer frisbees on Saturday.

Kris and Greg, awesome job on emceeing the matches. You guys are so knowledgeable about the teams and bring in interesting facts about the teams there.

For those on CD who do not know, Alamo Regional runs the Regional FTC tournament on Thursday and Friday and the Regional FLL tournament on Saturday in conjunction with the FRC tournament. It is very exciting to see all three levels represented in the same venue.

As always, I wish I had more time to visit with other mentors and teams to pick their brains on how their program runs. So many resources, so little time - but I always come away with a few new ideas from visiting with other mentors.

Re: 2013 Alamo Regional
 

So very spotlighted.

With that out of the way, FRC 57 would like to thank FRC 1429 and FRC 3481 for working so hard with us in the elims. 8th seed wasn't the best place to be, but I think we had a decent showing despite that and our suddenly buggy shooter.

Congrats of course to FRC 2468, FRC 2789, and FRC 4063 on the impressive display of strategy and tactics to make it to regional champions. Those semi-finals were simply epic and nail-biting. Huge congrats to Jeff Erickson for the WFFA and the truly impressive hardware haul for 2789 this year. Hope you guys have as much success at Champs, and I hope you can get a defensive auto-mode worked out to bump your capabilities there.

Congratulations especially to Ilaria Ferrari of FRC 3103 on the Dean's List Finalist award. Her wiring and plumbing job on the robot made it easy to troubleshoot some of the shooting problems they were having and we got to blame programming and mechanical for a change. Those young women on Iron Plaid always impress me with their enthusiasm and dedication and I'm disappointed I can't drop by and work with them more often. They're working on their continuous improvement and I'm expecting bigger and better from them as the years go on.

Re: 2013 Alamo Regional
 

CONGRATS TO TEAM 1987 FOR WINNING CHAIRMANS!!!!

U GUYS R AWESOME

Re: 2013 Alamo Regional
 

Well, I've taken a couple days to be thoughtful about what to say after Alamo this year. Sadly, I can't find a word to describe it sufficiently. So, hopefully this won't be too long. Here goes...

Firstly, to Exploding Bunny Appreciation. It was the perfect alliance. At Hub City, it really sucked to have to defeat 2468 in the semis. But, it was a real pleasure to work with 4063 and the Bomb Squad to make it to finals. This time, we had the right combination (FCS, Pyramid Shooter, Defender) to pull off the victory. #hubcityredemption

Secondly, to the Finalist Alliance (3997, 801, 3545). You were a fantastic group. I'm happy that our alliance was able to pass two wild cards on to 3997 and 801, but also deeply sorry that 3545 was left out.

Thirdly, to the one seed (1477, 624, 457). Those matches were epic, and the excitement our six teams generated when we were on the field was unparalleled this year (and perhaps even for several more previous years as well).

Fourthly, to Lambot (3478) and FRC 1987 for EI and RCA, respectively. I've always liked Lambot's enthusiasm and the energy they bring to the event. The Chairman's Award video from 1987 was unlike any I had seen. It demonstrated the community that was the Alamo Regional, and kept more people in their seats to watch it than any other RCA video I've seen.

Lastly, and most importantly, to my team FRC 2789 TEXplosion, particularly Kelly S. for her exceptional essay that gave me the opportunity to walk up in front of everybody and hold that WFFA trophy. Also, of course to Bobby Garcia, Pedro Merced, Janice Trinidad, Adrianna Jacobi, Holly Davis, Jim Pabst, Donna Kidwell, Harry Kidwell, Andrew Seins, Kaitlyn Seins, Donte Davis, and Regina Pineda for being such great Mentors, Parents, and Alumni.

I remember sitting in the stands at Epcot in 1998 when I first saw a WFA handed out. I remember meeting Dr. Flowers in 2000, and shaking his hand again in Lubbock this year as we received our Finalist award. It has been a trip of 15 years, but here I am looking at one of my greatest life accomplishments as I write this.

Further thanks are due to FRC 41. Particularly to Brian Beckey from my student days and Bill Tompkins, Tom DiGanci, Jeff Charney, Mike Kutch, Jim Giacchi, Will Merrell, Garrett Dicken, Reema Sil, and Matt Tyler from my mentoring days for all of their support as Mentors, Teachers, Administrators, and Alumni. It was our win at the NYC regional in 2008 with FRC 555 and FRC 1989 that gave us the trip to Atlanta. There, I met FRC 2468 and the adventure that brings us to today was started.

To Mid-Atlantic Robotics, and all of the great teams there for my excellent and memorable experiences as a student and a mentor. Particularly, I want to mention Jerry Fisher, Chris Gregory, Monique DiTuri, Jim Hobin (and all the Hobins) and FRC 56, 223, 555, 1089, 1279, 1302, Team Overdrive (I don't remember their number), FRC 3142, and FRC 3314.

And to all my friends in Texas, all of the WFFA winners on the field when I received the award, and all of the teams I am so fond of. Particularly, Norman Morgan, Danny Diaz, Tony Bertucci, Scott McMahon, JVN, Adrienne Emerson, Jess Jank, David Yanoshak, Mike Outlaw, Sarah Le, Steven Zabriski, and Stash Zabriski. And for teams: FRC 57, 118, 148, 418, 2158, 2468, and 4610.

Thank you all for making Friday so wonderful. I will cherish the memory of that day and what all of you had done to make it possible forever.

Re: 2013 Alamo Regional
 

Those last matches were truly epic, im im glad to have been part of that semi-finals match, even though we came up short, it was an epic match. I would like to thank 1477 and 624 for taking us along an incredible elimination round, it would be an honor to do it again, i would also like to thank 4603 for the rolling tool box that they gave as a gift, We Were glad to have been able to help you here and provide tools and parts to rebuilt your robot (4603 I hope to see yall back here again). Team 3997, i like to say congrats on making it to the World Championship again this year, make us proud over thier.
and congrats to Team 1987 on winning the chairmans award here, hopefully will meet again at Ozark Mountain Brawl

Exploding Bunny Appreciation alliance, congrats on winning the regional, along with other teams from Texas, our state will be represented well at the World Championship. Good Luck And A Safe Journey to St. Louis everyone

Re: 2013 Alamo Regional
 

It was long...but we should consider ourselves so fortunate that we are surrounded by so many great people that deserve to be acknowledged :)

I shouldn't have to say this, which is exactly why I will, but Jeff, we are very proud of you and grateful for...well, everything. Thank you. Without you, we wouldn't have been able to dream of being this successful!

Which reminds me...that signature of yours is a little out-of-date, Billy Bob!

Now get back to work. :)

Re: 2013 Alamo Regional
 

Just to clear this up, that was not the Broncobots' chairman's award video. The video that was played was made by Roll24Productions (Great job Edward). My understanding was that there was a problem getting the chairman's video to the AV crew. This was not 1987's fault in any way. I was really looking forward to watching their video, hopefully they will post it to their website soon.

Re: 2013 Alamo Regional
 

Well then, I stand corrected. Hopefully 1987 will post their RCA video to YouTube or their website soon.

And to Roll24Productions, that was an excellent way to end the event.

Re: 2013 Alamo Regional
 

We very much enjoyed the Alamo regional. The excitement throughout kept us going every day.

Thank you for the congratulations on our RCA win. I am so happy for our students as I know the work they put in to make it happen. I will try to find out where our video is. Maybe next time we need to hire ::wink:: Roll24Productions as it was a very nice video they produced for the regional.

We would like to thank our alliance partners during eliminations, 3335 and 3999. It was a hard fought battle. In my opinion 2789 is a force to reckon with. I heard they wanted to cause stress for everyone at the competition as a defensive bot, and stress they caused.

It was awesome to see the international presence at Alamo. The energy the Mexican teams have is amazing. I hope they harness that energy into great engineering ideas for the future. Speaking of Mexican teams, 3478 received a well deserved EI award.

Congratulations to 2468 (yes I appreciate), 2789, and 4063 on a wonderful win. 1477, 624 and others sure had great robots, and you beat them. What an achievement! I wish I knew his name, but the to the coach on 2468, your 20 years of experience in coaching sure comes through in a completely positive way. Keep inspiring!

I know 1987 made friends for life with 3552. Stay awesome!

Attending what I believe to be the biggest FIRST regional with FLL, FTC, and FRC was impressive. The regional planning committee had their hands full, and they did a great job.

Re: 2013 Alamo Regional
 

That'd be Norman Morgan, "Coach Norm" a few posts up. Also the 2013 Hub City WFFA, so I think it's fairly likely he'll be inspiring for many years to come.

Re: 2013 Alamo Regional
 

I hope so! I've never worked with anyone else in FIRST that can put situations into perspective like Coach Norm. He knew when we needed to calm down, and he knew when we needed to get fired up, and he knew exactly how to do it, too. That WFFA at Hub City was very well-deserved.

Re: 2013 Alamo Regional
 

Thanks Andrew for the nice words. It was great to watch your team spend so much time across the pits from us on another robot. I know they will remember the dedication you and your team showed them.

Yes Kevin, I do plan on being around for a while. It is the closest I will get to coaching basketball again, but this is so much better in so many ways.

Bobby, I had a great set of mentors as coaches that provided me such good training starting with my Father who was an FFA advisor, my college basketball coach Mark Adams and all the way to Clifton McNeely who is current head basketball coach at the school of FRC1477.

I do admit that I get in a different element when I get on the field and start to prepare for a match.

I have had to change from keeping so close to the vest as I would in sports. Robotics has changed me as a teacher, mentor and individual. Tony Bertucci with FRC418 has been a huge influence on me as a mentor in robotics as well. He provides such a positive role model for mentors to follow and answers all my silly questions.

I am also very fortunate to have such a strong group of mentors as well as parents who work with my team.

Re: 2013 Alamo Regional
 

Thanks for the shout out Norm RE Alamo FIRST continuum Event , we even had a small 20 team Jr.FLL Expo out in the carpeted area of East Registration on Saturday from 10:00 - 2:00. We put this model out there as way to promote the full FIRST continuum to not only FRC teams but the media and general public as FRC has the more flashy robots that draws more attention. The trick is to balance the venue exposure and dual opening ceremonies so that the other programs don't feel like step children at a FRC event. It also affords the FLL kiddos to see first hand an idea of what is next.

Re: 2013 Alamo Regional
 

I did forget to mention the JFLL. In fact, one of my Assistant Principals was there to watch her grandson and wandered over to the FRC field after lunch. She was blown away and so excited. Yesterday, we were having STARR tests on campus and I found her showing a video from the tournament three different times to other admins and teachers. She told my principal that she would sign up to go to any robotics tournaments in the future.

I think the idea of all levels under one venue is great for the younger students to see the next level. My FTC students who stayed and watch Saturday were so pumped at the end of the day. Many of them had done FLL in the past and were over visiting with the younger students about the contest.

I think this is a great model for others to follow.