Team 1717 retires

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by Kevin Leonard

Now where am I going to point to as the "coolest drivetrain in FRC" when discussing drivetrains with my students?

Also might be awkward having people read "The New Cool", and then telling them the team in the book no longer exists.

Try explaining to new kids to FIRST that CD was an actual FIRST team that got put out to pasture because their school closed. Sometimes FIRST teams have their fates decided by things outside of their control.

[safiq10]

Originally Posted by Koko Ed

Try explaining to new kids to FIRST that CD was an actual FIRST team that got put out to pasture because their school closed. Sometimes FIRST teams have their fates decided by things outside of their control.

We just tell our kids that its called Chief Delphi to call upon the ancient delphi's power for wisdom and future telling

But this is a serious bummer that such a great team will no longer be competing.

[Knufire]

Originally Posted by safiq10

But this is a serious bummer that such a great team will no longer be competing.

Pontiac Central and Pontiac Northern consolidated into a single high school back in 2009-2010 I believe. Their two teams (FRC47: Chief Delphi from Central and FRC65: The Huskie Brigade from Northern) elected to combine to form the current FRC51. 51 inherited everything from the past two teams, including Hall of Fame status from 47's 1997 National* Chairman's Award.


*Yes Gregor, it was nationals back then.

[Karthik]

1717 had one of the most impressive FRC programs I've ever seen. The knowledge base that their students possessed was made even more impressive by the short amount of time each of them participated in the program. Their 2012 robot was, in my opinion, one of the all time great robots in FRC. Their presence will definitely be missed.

[Michael Hill]

Man....I JUST started re-reading The New Cool yesterday. I wonder if any of the students would be willing to create an after-school team.

[Anupam Goli]

I too looked forward to seeing the robots 1717 would put out every year. Their robots were unique and beautiful works of engineering.

It's very tough to have every student be involved in every facet of engineering an FRC robot, especially with a larger team. I'd imagine doing a Mechatronics project similar to some Capstone design classes in college will get students more involved in their projects.

Another factor to consider is college admission. The students of DPEA are most likely trying to get into the most elite higher education institutions. Not that this is a bad thing, but participating in FRC has become more common on the application. Maybe working on projects like these will allow these students' applications to stand out more...

[tindleroot]

We are all going to miss 1717's presence on the field, but hopefully their legacy still lives on. This is the team that should have made Einstein year after year, but never got lucky enough. This is the team that has made on of the most innovative swerve drives in FRC, and one of the best vision tracking systems as well.

Our team was lucky enough to be selected by 1717 for the Curie division eliminations in 2013, and even though the alliance lost in the quarter finals, it was a great opportunity for us to work along side one of the highest quality FRC programs in the world.

Thank you for everything you have given us, Dos Pueblos. I wish you all the best of luck with your new program.

[Jared Russell]

This makes total sense if you read the article. FRC is a great program, but isn't scalable in the ways it would need to be to provide a large number of students with a comprehensive capstone.

[Carl C]

This is sad news for the FIRST community, but I'm glad to see that the school is moving on to a program with a lot of the same goals.

I remember watching the championship streams back in 2012 and I was always impressed with 1717's accuracy. They were a huge inspiration when it came to controls and consistency.

[Clem1640]

1717 was one of those teams you looked to when you needed an example of things done right. A great role model. They will be missed.

Also, their drive-train was the swerve gold standard.

[lynca]

DPEA will still be one of the top programs in the country even without FRC. In previous years, their students only participated in FRC during their senior year. What did all those students do from freshmen to junior levels that made them so ready for FRC ? DPEA has decided to go for a better capstone project for every student.

Whatever direction they go everyone should take note and look at how they are trying to improve each of their students.

[connor.worley]

Does anyone know if they're planning on carrying on as an extracurricular?

[Nick Lawrence]

Thank you for the years of inspiration, 1717. It sounds like the new direction you are headed will be better for your students in the long run.

-Nick

[rsilverstein]

**Disclosure: the thoughts and ideas expressed below do not in any way reflect that of Team 1717 or those involved with the team and this decision.**

That being said, I am very sad about this announcement. I personally think it's the wrong decision but recognize the place it's coming from. I think the fundamental nature of going down the path of Mechatronics over FRC is that of Education vs. Inspiration.

It says it right in the name: For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. FIRST is about inspiring people to get into STEM. It has done the best job of gamifying STEM that the world has ever seen. It's fun and exciting and even allows for spectators to get into it. Dean has said it himself many times, that he can't wait for the day when our scientists and engineers are as celebrated as our professional athletes. FIRST does a great job to make that come alive.

What FIRST isn't, however, is fully focused on education. The teams who come up with the best robot and have the best drivers are celebrated. The kids and mentors are all driven (to crazy/amazing extents) by this one specific goal. To design/build/drive the best robot, you need to specialize in tasks and divide up the labor. You set up various sub-teams and pin-point one specific aspect of the robot to perfect. You work day and night to make sure that, come Gameday, you win. It's also a very short build-season and has required the DPEA to set up a structure where you have 3.5 years of "practice" and 4 months of the "real thing." I'm not too familiar with Mechatronics but from what I gather... the students are able to work on a much more comprehensive set of tasks and challenges. The coders get to machine. The machiners get to design. The designers get to code. Without having this super high-intensity challenge, it does allow for students to get a much more well-rounded STE(A)M education.

Now why do I think this is the wrong path to go down? Because I don't actually think it should be about the education over inspiration. Team 1717 has earned such an impressive local (and FIRST-wide) reputation of engineering excellence, compassion, teamwork and competitiveness, that they themselves become the inspiration for other teams in the community. 1717 has mandated for as long as it could, that the program would be 50/50 men & women. 1717 goes to all the local junior highs to give demos and presentations and recruit applicants of hundreds of 13 year-olds who now want to do engineering for high school. 1717 helped inspire a book that further encouraged people to go into engineering.

By focusing on education, the DPEA might end up with the most well-rounded, qualified, high school graduates in the country, but the influence of 1717 went well beyond that. The DPEA now will be much more insular. It won't have a broader community to connect with and be inspired by themselves. FRC also goes well beyond high school. I now have coworkers who I can talk to about FIRST. I'm 8 years out of the program and still follow the FRC competition closely. In my opinion, this intangible inspiration has been discounted in making this decision and will decrease the overall lasting impact that this program has given myself, my peers, and the community at large.

Hopefully time will prove me wrong and the DPEA continues to thrive and grow. I have full faith in the leadership of the program and so far they seem to have gotten things right. 1717 will be missed.

[Citrus Dad]

Originally Posted by rsilverstein

Now why do I think this is the wrong path to go down? Because I don't actually think it should be about the education over inspiration. Team 1717 has earned such an impressive local (and FIRST-wide) reputation of engineering excellence, compassion, teamwork and competitiveness, that they themselves become the inspiration for other teams in the community. 1717 has mandated for as long as it could, that the program would be 50/50 men & women. 1717 goes to all the local junior highs to give demos and presentations and recruit applicants of hundreds of 13 year-olds who now want to do engineering for high school. 1717 helped inspire a book that further encouraged people to go into engineering.

By focusing on education, the DPEA might end up with the most well-rounded, qualified, high school graduates in the country, but the influence of 1717 went well beyond that. The DPEA now will be much more insular. It won't have a broader community to connect with and be inspired by themselves. FRC also goes well beyond high school. I now have coworkers who I can talk to about FIRST. I'm 8 years out of the program and still follow the FRC competition closely. In my opinion, this intangible inspiration has been discounted in making this decision and will decrease the overall lasting impact that this program has given myself, my peers, and the community at large.
1717 will be missed.

My thoughts as well.