Re: Texas Registration 2015
 

I don't try to manage it. That's not my job. I just try to support it and help those who want my help.

Regarding the measurement, quite simply, I don't try to measure it. I think that it is frankly impossible to apply rigid seemlingly objective measures to something so subjective as organizations of people and the relationships between them when they do not have identical goals and aspirations. To do so judges the "success" of a team based on what is collectively (or subjectively) thought to be "success." I'm very Ayn Rand on this point: The smallest minority is the individual, and I know each individual FRC team has their own goals for what they consider success. That's the great part about FRC, it's so big, so challenging, and so complicated that you get to (and rightly should) make your own definition for success.

Do I look at the teams with successful track records and rows of blue banners and hope to learn about how to make a better robot? Sure. But if I were to look at my own team's win-loss-tie record and judge them, I wouldn't be elated. Even if I tried to judge on field performance aside from WLT, I could certainly make arguments that we weren't a success because we didn't play every aspect of the game.

But, I can look at my alumni who visit every now and again and see how the team has impacted the career they have chosen. I've seen them come back and freeze in awe at our facilities today that we didn't have when they were on the team. I can look at our track record of teaching our students skills. There are all too many students I have dealt with who didn't know how to use a drill properly who now know a fair amount about design and fabrication. Are they engineers yet? No, but that's not what I'm after. I'm just glad that they got off on the right foot into a career that I hope they will find rewarding. (BTW, that career isn't always a STEM career.)

I can look at my team's contributions to the local FRC community and to the Manor and Austin communities. Just yesterday, I was modifying parts for one of our sponsors on our "new" 15 year old Haas Mill. We've been to the F1 track for events. We've been to Capitol Hill in DC, and members of our team testified before the Texas Legislature. We've gone from a portable classroom to a 3000 square foot shop and classroom facility. And, we did it without needing to pass a special bond measure. We've inspired at team (4610) to take on the FRC challenge fully, and they've inspired a team (5503) to do the same. Do you have any idea how involved 2789 is in TRR and the Austin Kickoff? All those social events in 2011, 2012, and 2013, the planning committee, the workshops, the Field Elements. Oh, and the President of the United States visited us. We didn't visit him. He visited us.

Do we have a Chairman's Award or Engineering Inspiration Award to show for this? No. Does that mean we didn't do it? No. Are we a success? I think so.

But, these are things I know because I'm on the team. There's more beyond what I'm mentioning here, too. However, I'm often surprised at teams, some relatively seasoned, who don't know half of what I just mentioned about 2789. I, therefore, as an honest thinker must conclude that what I know about a team from the outside is a mere fraction of what they are on the inside. For me, it's superficial and unfair to judge another team based on what I see. And for them to judge my team without walking in our shoes is equally bad, IMHO.

Re: Texas Registration 2015
 

On a broader scale, I think 2017 is also the timeframe that a decent amount of other regions are either looking at or being encouraged to look at for their own district rollouts, so pushing it back past that might end up with Texas behind the curve of other regions (if the rumors I've been hearing are accurate).

Re: Texas Registration 2015
 

Jeffrey... that's _awesome_ info about 2789, I didn't know that about your team!

So in my way of thinking I'd put 2789 as a Type-A team [UPDATED/changed to Type-B per Bobby Garcia's post below] - "A - Teams that are a _program_ with reliable and continual support and funding. Same as football and marching band."

And "A" teams have a lot of latitude as to what their activities and purpose for existence can be--hence the entire spectrum of team personalities that exist in these A program teams.

I'd _love_ 3481 to be a Type-A and to see what our personality would settle into, and we're incrementally moving there, but the bottom-line we're still Type-B - "B - Teams that exist because at least one adult _wills it_ to exist."

--Michael Blake

Re: Texas Registration 2015
 

I caution against making assumptions with viability and teams. Our team meets your conditions A and B, and as far as accomplishments, you can look at Jeff's post above. All that considered, our team folded 3, that's right THREE times between the start of this current school year and Kickoff, in spite of the fact that we had met conditions A & B, and in spite of what we've been able to accomplish.

Every year I make connections with people on other teams that leave me awestruck when they tell me details about how their team operates, and that goes for both established teams and rookie teams alike. My experience has taught me that as many different teams as there are active, that's how many different sets of conditional statement situations exist for what makes a "type" of team, regardless of how big or small their team number is.

As mentioned previously, if all teams had to pay were registration, that's true...but when you factor in travel, food, lodging, those numbers look different for some teams...especially when it comes to paying for two events, and then possibly having to travel to a state championship, and then to world championship.

In all honesty, I haven't been a big proponent of the district model, or UIL for that matter. As it stands right now, my school is a separate school from the main comprehensive high school in our district, and our students participate in UIL programs at the other high school in our district. We have concerns about how the UIL situation would affect our team. In terms of the district model, I can remember scrambling to secure money for champs the year we qualified, doing two scrambles for two championships does not sound appealing to me, particularly after this year, in which we've lost teacher mentors and lost significant sponsors...I'm not saying that I'm out picketing, or threatening to throw all our efforts into another competition or anything like that, I'm just saying that I have legitimate concerns.

As with most aspects about this experience, the UIL & the Texas District model talk further confirm that while I love the FRC competition, I love the people in the FRC community more.

Re: Texas Registration 2015
 

Bobby... I'm assuming then that this had to do with funding and/or lack of reliable support from the school?

I see you dropped down to 1 regional from your usual 2... that could hurt a bit, unfortunately.

--Michael Blake

Re: Texas Registration 2015
 

In Texas, here's, in my mind, the teams that are Type-A... I'm purposely leaving some teams out--plus I don't know ALL the Texas teams' profiles... I'd like others to add to the list if they'd like to:

"A - Teams that are a _program_ with reliable and continual support and funding. SAME as football and marching band."

118 Robonauts
148 Robowranglers
457 Grease Monkeys
624 CRyptonite
1477 Texas Torque
2158 ausTINCANS
2468 Team Appreciate
2848 All Sparks
3847 Spectrum

Pretty sure I've got it right on these teams... anyone want to add some more teams?

--Michael Blake

Re: Texas Registration 2015
 

We lost most of the teachers that were involved with the program for a variety of reasons unrelated to FRC & our main sponsors changed their funding priorities with our school district and it hit us pretty hard. We still have solid financial support from our school as well as two class periods for robotics AND an entire graduation pathway/program of study built around kids getting the STEM endorsement for graduation based on the robotics program, but now it's down to just myself and a teacher on our campus, and the two engineers we've got.

It hurt A LOT. We also had to back out of Remix at the last minute because that was one of the weekends our team fell apart. We lost several students over the course of all this, some of whom had been with the team for more than just a year or two.

...and all of this in spite of accomplishments, or support, or finances, or machine shop upgrades, or experience. This past year has taught me all too well just how delicate and just how strong our program really is.

Re: Texas Registration 2015
 

I agree completely and this is what needs to happen, honest and open discussion regarding both districts and UIL because the potential impact is enormous.

BTW, I am glad you guys stuck it out and made it through the hard times you faced. I can't imagine how I would feel if my team folded for reasons beyond my control...

Re: Texas Registration 2015
 

Phil, you have far more confidence in the integrity and consistency of politically appointed competitive athletics organizations than I do.

Re: Texas Registration 2015
 

Not at all. That was more a statement of what I thought would be good for the FRC community. We recently went through some silliness with the people who run the Houston YMCA aquatics program so I would not expect that UIL would be any better. My mother-in-law would say that many of these people "don't have enough to be in charge of" so they impose themselves on us.

I am sorry that we don't get to play with your team this year. Hopefully we can meet up at an off-season event.

Re: Texas Registration 2015
 

Likewise, Phil! We plan to attend as many off-season events as we can this year, so I'm sure we'll run into each other at some point!

Re: Texas Registration 2015
 

;)

Re: Texas Registration 2015
 

As posted in another thread...

I know I am not the norm, I live in South West Texas, 150 miles from any other FRC team. We are 150 miles from San Antonio, 180 from Laredo, 230 from Austin, 350 from Houston, 350 from Lubbock and 430 from Dallas. The actual registration cost of the regional is not at large as the travel and hotel costs. I appreciate the grants we have receive, as they cover almost all of our registration fees. If Texas goes to the district model, maybe they will consider travel costs for those teams that travel longer distances, which require hotel, meals, etc. that local teams do not have.


Mr. B

Re: Texas Registration 2015
 

We're in the same boat. We actually had money to register for two regionals this year, thanks to some generous donations from our sponsors, but due to the travel expenses, it just wasn't feasible. Simply going to Dallas or Lubbock for a weekend with ~8 kids and three mentors already adds up to $3,000-4,000. I would hope that Districts would lead to more events per geographic region within the state of Texas, but with only one other Texas team within 100 miles of us, it seems unlikely at best. The extra travel expenses could cripple or destroy teams that are already struggling to get by.

Re: Texas Registration 2015
 

Same here. We (and one fellow local team) are just over 100 miles from Houston and almost 200 miles from Dallas. My team travels with 20 - 25 students. Travel and hotel winds up running us right at $4500.00 (this does not include mentor hotel rooms). Not sure what we would do about doubling the travel costs...other side of the coin is that we would get to participate in two events...