Team 1717 retires

[Jay O'Donnell]

I just read about it here: https://www.edhat.com/site/tidbit.cfm?nid=154929

It still sounds like they have an amazing program, but I'll miss watching their robots in action.

[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.

[notmattlythgoe]

Well, that's a bummer.

[SenorZ]

???
I think I'd need to see some more about this Mechatronics project to fully understand it. From what little they show in that article I can't believe it is a replacement for FRC, considering how they ran their team so well.

Looks more like STEAM education that STEM... with more of an emphasis on the A, and less on the E.

Wonder how this will affect their enrollment?

[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.

[Ty Tremblay]

Originally Posted by SenorZ

???
I think I'd need to see some more about this Mechatronics project to fully understand it. From what little they show in that article I can't believe it is a replacement for FRC, considering how they ran their team so well.

Looks more like STEAM education that STEM... with more of an emphasis on the A, and less on the E.

Wonder how this will affect their enrollment?

The answer to your question is in a bulleted list in the article:

Mechatronics will be a robust educational experience because:

• the new curriculum will focus on consistent rigor and relevance;
  
• every student will be responsible for creating—from scratch—one or more of the Mechatronics mechanisms;
  
• every student will work on all facets of the engineering process (design, prototype development, programming, manufacturing, assembly, and quality control);
  
• small teams will create new, integrated design projects over the full academic year, allowing time for reflection during the design process;
  
• DPEA educators will define the learning objectives; and
  
• the full capacity of the Elings Center will be utilized throughout the school year.

Summed up, this will provide more access for students to work on what they want to work on for the entire year. No matter how well-organized your team is, it's hard to let every student work on every facet of the team and get something meaningful out of it.

[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.

[JDGallagher]

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?

I think 2451 has a decent shot at that title.

[Steven Donow]

Originally Posted by SenorZ

???
I think I'd need to see some more about this Mechatronics project to fully understand it. From what little they show in that article I can't believe it is a replacement for FRC, considering how they ran their team so well.

<snip>

Wonder how this will affect their enrollment?

Note the emphasis on "every student". I've read elsewhere that they've actually had increasing enrollment and that this is the solution; it makes sense. It's hard to have 20+ students equally involved in the engineering aspects of FIRST.

[ThunderousPrime]

At the end of build season one of the robots I most wanted to see at the end of the year was 1717's. They always brought cool and slick solutions to the challenges that were just as evasive and effective on the field.

There is certainly something to said about the "FRC experience" that I believe new students will be missing out of. Communications skills, working as a team, time constraints and friendly competition are something I think all students can benefit from.

[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.