[Mr. Ackroyd]

Previous life out of college, I was a Manufacturing/Quality Engineering for seven years at a Fiber Optics company that was number one at it's height. Things went bust when the tech bubble burst and we were bought out by a world competitor. I saw the writing on the wall and transitioned into teaching Technology Education. I wanted to steer kids into a path of engineering.

I've been teaching at Ballston Spa for eight years now and in that time I helped start FLL where we now have eight teams each year. A high school coach started FRC in that time and we always had conversations about the gap between FLL and FRC when students came in at ninth grade. So, three years ago I started and FTC team for 8th and 9th graders to bridge that gap.

This year I took over the FRC and bridging that gap has paid off. When the FTC season is complete, I bring the 9th grade members onto the FRC team. This has truly allowed us to train down skills to the younger students while in the midst of build season. It really helps out during off season fall events and the young students can jump right into the fun of FRC