[Ken Leung]

After attending SD in week one, I realized one thing about Breakaway - this game is HARD.

This is my first year working with 115. 115 is one of the veteran teams in the Bay Area, the team has built quality robots and won regionals in the past. But after 3 weeks into build, we realized the team was in deep trouble. And I mean, real trouble. The kids spent 2 weeks designing hanging mechanisms that were too heavy and too impractical for our robot, mechanisms that are supposed to be 3rd or 4th priority on our list (Going over the bump, controlling the ball, and kicking was supposed to come first). That's when I realized the kids need some serious hands-on assistant to get them through the rest of build with a somewhat presentable robot.

I remember one night on week 4, after seeing the kids struggling with kicker mechanisms after kicker mechanisms, when I finally said, "Ok, I've had enough. What can we put together with this Bosch extrusion, an axle, couple of shoulder blocks, and this surgical tubing right here?" 30 minutes later, we put together a kicker that was far superior than anything the kids have done in the past 4 weeks.

It takes a tremendous amount of FIRST knowledge just to put together a reliable, decently preforming robot in a game. On our team, that consist of Ted Shinta, a machinist/woodshop teacher who has been a 115 adviser since 2000, Mauri Laitinen, a senior electrical engineer/programmer who has been on the team since 2006, Patrick Wang, former 115 2003 student president who studied economics in Berkeley and specialize in game strategy and coaching, and myself, a mechanical engineer who has participated in FIRST since 1999. All of that and we just barely put together a working robot that kicks and go over the bump well in week 5.

I went around the Bay Area for a little while trying to help teams who need mechanical assistance, and I spent a lot of time watching the competition at San Diego on week one. Let me say this again: this game is HARD. I thought we were struggling because our kids lack the proper training this year. Then I looked at the 25-26 teams at SD who were barely driving/herding balls around, and realized we were actually doing pretty well.

I am not saying it's a good thing or a bad thing, but compare to robots 10 years ago, we are finding ourselves needing to build more and more sophisticated robots each year. I am having a great time building robot for this year's game, but I can see how others are struggling with it if they don't have proper resources on their team.

I think that's why the game is so hard for many teams out there. There are so much you need to learn/do if you want to compete with the likes of 217, 148, 1114, 254, 330, etc. It takes a huge amount of experiences and knowledge to do it, and it's almost impossible to do without the right people. Give me 10 minutes, and I can write down all the names of people directly responsible for the success of these teams.

Again, I am not saying that's a good thing or a bad thing. I am just saying that's how it is. Personally, after spending this season learning how this team works, I have no problem stepping up the game and try to compete at the higher level next year. But a lot of teams are going to be struggling again, if the game is going to be just as hard next year.