@TheFish, I'm curious who you actually are. PM me maybe?
Anyhow, it's really nice to see my former team remembered. Team 968 RAWC is one of those fantastic teams that often did not get the level of national recognition that seems to come rather easily to others. This is a team full of a lot of rich history and some real stand-up mentors. And one interesting thing to note is that this team has never had any mentors who were actual experienced engineers, and other than a teacher at the school has never had any mentors over the age of 28. I have a lot of great memories from my years spent on 968, the most memorable probably being the 2008 trip to Hawaii and playing against 1114 on Einstein also in 2008.
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Originally Posted by Jon Jack
Cory is right, they actually lost 4 mentors in 3 years - each with between 8-15 years of experience. It'd be hard for any team to lose that much experience and continue playing at the level 968 played at. Those mentors are now on 254, 696, 1538, 3476. Both 696 and 3476 are becoming top teams in California (as can be seen by their appearance in the finals together at Inland Empire).
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Jon, I'm sorry we didn't have time to directly cross paths this season, but man, you clearly know your team history here. I'll add to it just a bit. The team has actually lost even more mentors than you describe.
Bob Anderson, the founding teacher of Team 968 was no longer able to help after the 2008 season due to a personal reasons and transferring schools, and the team struggled to find and retain a committed and willing teacher in the years following. Travis Covington (one of the founding mentors of 968) moved back up north and joined 254 after the 2008 season when he took a new job in that area. Kirk Oden (another founding mentor of the team) moved to northern California after the 2008 season, took a job there, and got married). Andy Hedge (formerly of 980, now of 3476) and I both said fairwell to 968 after the 2010 season, after we both graduated from Cal Poly Pomona University and took full time jobs away from the West Covina area. Kiet Chau (now of 1538) moved to San Diego after the 2011 season to take a job there. Another mentor became married and started a family after the 2010 season, and needed to really reduce his involvement in the team. Another mentor that helped with fabrication has found himself rather busy with work in recent years. And finally, Jacqueline Ha joined the Army as a combat medic some time around 2009 and sadly passed away to cancer in 2012.
Combined, there were probably close to 100 people-years of experience mentoring this team. I cannot think of any other team that has lost so much experience over a period of only a few years. Today, Richard Medina, originally a student on the team from it's rookie year in 2002, continues as the lead mentor, and the team is still supported by several sponsors in their local area. Team 968 RAWC still carries its demanding standards of quality which were instilled into its culture and methods of operation by Travis from the very beginning. Their dedication, attention to detail, care for aesthetics, and high standards of quality are evident in every piece they produce. I have carried these standards and methods to 696, where I have helped drastically improve their program over the past three years.
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Originally Posted by Jon Jack
In fact, we couldn't have asked for a better 2nd pick than 968 at Inland Empire.
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Friday night I instructed my students to pick 968 for our 3rd alliance member. They disagreed, and well, it is what it is. I don't think there was any way we we could stop the Holy Cows and Warlords alliance, regardless of who their 3rd partner was. But yes, 968 was a fantastic last pick.