There were many great rookies this year. Here are just a few of them:
I agree that 980 had an awesome team and robot. I especially liked them, since their robot was very similar to ours. They could gobble up balls much quicker than we could, though!
Also, 868 had a good rookie year. These guys were great to work with and we enjoyed mentoring them through their first year. Expect good things from the Delphi-Carmel HS "Hound Tech" team.
Then, there are those seasoned FIRST vets on the rookie team of 857. Anthony, Justin, Adam and the rest of the Superior Roboworks crew had an AWESOME robot with the neatest drive train of all robots in 2002. It was a darn shame that these guys had to lose their team 221 qualification points from 2001 and couldn't make it to the Championships this year. If you never got to see the "Kiwi" drive system, be cure to go to their website to check it out.
Another team that got alot of attention this year was 810... Christina, Michael and the crew from Smithtown had an awesome year and will be a team to watch in the years to come.
Team ASCII, 892 from Ohio had a good robot and team this year also. They were "Rookie All-Stars" at the Buckeye Regional and had a very neat and effective circular robot.
Probably one of the most underrated rookies this year was 902. These guys and gals from Michigan had a robot that could do it all, and it was a masterpiece of LEXAN craftmanship.
Another team to watch will be 968. This team, led by Travis Covington (formerly of 115) and Scott McElroy had a great-looking robot which was quick, powerful and highly functional. They did well at the LA Regional while also being one of the highest rookie seeds at the Championships. I especially liked their drive system
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Andy B.