Mark Mahrer, the Patron Saint of Human Players...
Here is another camera angle of his incredible pair of shots:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkUUnLpNmSo
Mark was our human player all season long. He has made more miraculous shots than I can remember. He always does his job quietly and with professionalism befitting a Robowrangler. Little moves like "hiding" the empty cells are the norm.
When 148 decided to attend IRI, we announced that ALL the driver positions were up for grabs. We would select driver, gunner, and human player based on participation at summer practices.
Our playing field is located in the IFI warehouse, which is NOT air conditioned... in TEXAS. This warehouse is a big oven. When it is 105 degrees outside, practicing in the warehouse is downright MISERABLE.
Mark came to almost every four hour practice session, and he spent the FULL four hours practicing shots. When the sweat was pouring off him, Mark would keep practicing. When the CIM motors on the robot were so hot you could burn your hand, and the rest of the team took a "cool down" break to grab a soda... Mark would keep practicing. No... really, the entire team would be up in the A/C and Mark would stay down in the 100 degree warehouse practicing.
Mark's incredible hard work and his dedication to the team yielded him the coveted "Robowrangler Professionalism" award.
This year on our team we had a saying: "I believe in Mark Mahrer."
I still believe in Mark, and I think many others are starting to understand why.
-John