It is obvious that 1114 strives for a high standard of excellence on and off the field. The tragic thing is that people seem to believe the goal of excellence on the field is in conflict with the ideals of FIRST. They couldn’t be more wrong. To illustrate my point, let me describe my team’s experience working with 1114.
As some of you may know, my team (2041) was lucky enough to be picked by 1114 and 469 at the championship last year. In our very first match together, we cracked our center drive wheels in a shoving match with 1732. After the match, a mentor from 1114 named Jeff helped us inspect our robot for damage. The conversation went something like this:
Me: “It looks like we damaged some of our wheels.”
<Jeff takes a look>
Jeff: “Well, those are wheels KOP wheels, we have plenty of those. What will it take to fix the problem?”
Me “Well to replace the wheel all you need to do is…..”
Jeff “No no, what will it take to FIX the problem”
I was shocked. The elimination rounds run at a fast pace. Here Jeff was insisting that we find some way to reinforce the wheels, fabricate it, and install it all between curie divisional elimination matches. I would have been ok with a solution that would have survived the elims. 1114 wanted to solve the problem for good. More importantly, this mentality permeated every student behind that curtain. Every student became committed to the idea of making us better, even this late in the game. In short, every student was inspired in a way I have not seen before in FIRST. This is what 1114 brings to the community.
Photo evidence of the fix implemented:
Before:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/daniele...7623898298752/
After:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/daniele...7623898298752/
Another great example comes later that day. In the last match of the finals, 2041 spent half the match stuck in a goal. When we freed ourselves, we clumsily blocked two more of our partners goals. In short, 2041 felt as though it cost the alliance the championship. It was obvious that 1114 wanted to win. They had to feel disappointed. No one can deny that. However, when it was all said and done, they went out of their way to thank us and encourage us. Rather than dwell on their own disappointment, they helped a relatively inexperienced team cope with its disappointment. I was touched by their sincerity. If that is not gracious professionalism, I don’t know what is.
It’s been said before, but apparently it needs to be repeated: Get to know the powerhouse teams. Learn how they operate, how they problem-solve, and how they act. Not only will you be pleasantly surprised, you will be inspired.
1114 is a perfect example of this. It saddens me that they are so badly misunderstood.