You are all having a very good discussion about the status of 2771, Code Red Robotics. I appreciate the input from everyone about our status as a rookie team because it something we wrestled with, too. This is only my third season in being involved with FIRST, and I really enjoy the community that focuses on student development. I’m the head coach of 2771, so please let me share the details of about our team. (It’s a long read … sorry about that)
Code Red has been an open book right from the beginning. We sent details of team formation to national FIRST in New Hampshire and to FIRST in Michigan in November and December 2008. We provided full disclosure of who, what, why the teamed formed.
Even as recently as mid-February, we communicated with FIRST in Michigan about our team status and roster. We also posted that info on our website so that everyone would know. In their reply, FIRST advised us that we qualify as a Rookie team, and that we could choose our status, rookie or veteran.
Our students discussed the matter and we also got help from the FIRST community. For help with that, our team consulted with FIRST Michigan officials, and multiple coaches and former coaches for guidance on rookie status. Everyone told us, “You guys are most certainly a rookie team.”
We made the decision to seek Rookie status for the following reasons:
We didn’t even have a host school until late August, about ten days before school started. We worked pretty hard to get the word to the students and get them excited about FIRST.
Going into October Registration, we had no sponsors, no parts, no tools, no build space. We had four veteran students, and several freshmen from a first-year high school.
Our Head Coach was just a team parent two years ago, and was an assistant for one year in, for the 2007/2008 season with Team 288.
We got our build space on December 05, which was a great blessing. We had an empty space then, and not a single tool or part.
We had a handful of committed students who worked very, very hard to build the team up from nothing. The coaches agreed to help to start the new team only if the students and their families were determined to stick with it. It’s only our second year of coaching and had a feeling it would be incredibly hard work to start a new team. That’s why we asked for help from local teams and sought partnerships wherever we could. We did learn that collaborating and forming partnerships were needed to build a program that would benefit students.
Since we had no resources in the fall, we entered the BEST robotics competition as a learning tool. We did a terrible job at BEST, but learned a lot in the process. That program helped our students develop teamwork and drove home the need for team structure and a project plan. It also taught us to ask other teams for help. Davison High school is a master at BEST robotics and gave us a lot of tips. If you want to see what that is all about, go to
http://www.bestinc.org/MVC/ .
We gained strength only because the vision of the team, set by the students, was an attractive one. The kids felt good about asking their friends to join a team that stressed character development and fun while learning engineering side of things. After our first four veteran students started the team, four more former 288 students joined the team. Again, we notified FIRST in Michigan right away. We are a rookie team, but I know many teams are telling us we don’t act like a rookie team.
Our students are encouraged to nurture their faith, to have balance in their lives and to seek excellence in all they do.
Code Red is succeeding because the team puts others FIRST.
2771 stayed and assisted in the cleanup and full field pack up at the Traverse City event
We have supplied Student ambassadors for Traverse City VIP guest
We assisted in the field pack up at Kettering
We supplied Student ambassadors for Kettering VIP guest
We also Webcast all Michigan Events (free of charge or payment in any type)
We hauled the playing field from the Lansing event to the west MI event (note we did not even participate in the Lansing event).
Pulling the trailer was no small task. A half-ton chevy pickup struggled to move it across the parking lot. So we needed to use a ¾ ton suburban to haul it to GVSU - gas mileage was killer.
We setup and tore down West Michigan. Our students actually worked from right after school on Wednesday until 8:00 PM to help set up WMD, sacrificing prep time for the tournament.
The tear down at WMD included picking up two layers of flooring with Creston’s team, and our kids stayed until 9:30 that night and missed a planned team party. They were bummed, but stayed willingly because it needed to be done.
Throughout the competition season, our students have started and actively mentor two Lego League teams at a grade school. Instead of rebuilding our robot, we are working two nights a week to inspire and teach younger kids. Having a competitive robot is a goal of Code Red, but not as important as providing opportunities to others.
If anyone noticed, we cheer for all other teams at the competition, including 288 and 216. We respect them and admire their achievements. Code Red wants to be an asset to the FIRST community, and also to kids who have not even heard of FIRST robotics yet
We had some veteran FIRST students, but we have a team and have built partnerships in a short time only due to God’s grace and tons of hard work. There is a whole lot more to our team than just the web site, and our robot, and our students. We have learned a lot from other FIRST teams, especially Team 904. We’ve gotten help from Team 1254, BOB,(Team 85), Team 74 and many others. Our team worked hard to get corporate partners on board, and we are grateful for the support.
With help from others, Code Red students have earned their way toward any success they’ve achieved. FIRST agreed that we are rookies. Just a few month’s ago, we had nothing but a few students, a couple of coaches and a dry erase board. We handed a marker to the students, and asked them,, “What do you want your robotics team to look like.” The kids (returning and rookies) wrote our vision statement and the team goals. Because it is they’re vision, they have a vested interest in achieving it. If you’d like to see our vision statement, let me know.
We have a blend of students who set some very high goals, and work well as a team to get there. The vision set by FIRST of gracious professionalism has attracted many first-year students to the team and, “they get it”.
Thank you all very much for your time.
By the way, congratulations to the people who put on WMD. It was a wonderful event. Also, congrats to 216, 1918 and 1254 You were a great alliance!