[J@GMFlint]

Thanks to Rookie Team #5231 who recognized our potential and selected us from the #26 seed as their first pick- 4th overall. We had too many self-induced challenges that made for a less than impressive showing during qualifications, Thank-You again for showing faith! This is another example of the importance of scouting and matching complementary team abilities in this game. Team #2145 you should be proud of all that you have accomplished this season, in particular for taking time away from your robot to assist rookies during build, it was fun playing with you! Thanks also to our combined tech. and field crews who got everything together and brought the best of what we had to the eliminations to keep the alliance operational. Taking it to three matches in the Finals was simply outstanding! Good Work!

Thanks/Props to the sponsoring teams of the GLBR and fine folks from H.H. Dow H.S. in Midland! We also greatly appreciated the opportunity to meet the Veteran troops from 82nd ABN Association on Friday!! The FRC Volunteer organization and support staff were also as good as ever! We hope to return to Midland again in the future.

Aerial Assist has certainly provided its share of upsets, and probably as much (or more) inspiration to average teams this season. I personally think that the way the game is set up such that EVERY team on the alliance can make it or break it- through scores or penalties, has added a new dimension to the season. Pure offensive capability of a single robot, or robots, must at times step-back to allow, or enable assists from their alliance partners, (much easier said than done in the heat of the match) or be overcome by those alliances that effectively do. Split-second decisions to defend/disrupt smartly and cleanly or set-up for your own cycle sways matches. It’s really been interesting to see how the defensive game has evolved. How everyone plays makes a huge difference, and yet pure luck/bad luck- how the ball bounces- still remains an exciting and often determining element of an FRC event!