Team 1717 retires

[MrForbes]

Originally Posted by waialua359

For every great program, there is that "one" person or group that creates that vision to excel for others to emulate. That person is Amir Abo-Shaeer. We've crossed paths many times in the past and he is such a positive role model to his students and others around him.

I missed him at Champs this year, one of the 1717 mentors said he was involved with another project at the Academy. I guess that was it....

The two pictures I have of the team from their first regional...AZ 2006. We were also new, and next to them in the pits. Their robot was slightly over weight.

[Cory]

Originally Posted by waialua359

Good questions.
I can only assume due to constraints (budget, focus, direction of the learning center). I would guess the fact that only seniors were doing it is a big reason to let it go.
I'm not sure I would do FRC either if I only had 1 year for each participating student.

With the move to the mechatronics capstone, there's no reason that constraint had to stay.

It's unfortunate 1717 won't exist anymore, but maybe in the future they will form an extracurricular team.

[hannaners]

Originally Posted by TDav540

I truly hope they come back as an extracurricular. IMO, FRC or FTC would be a great program for the freshman-juniors in the school leading up to the new capstone.

I agree wholeheartedly with this - keep Team 1717 as an extracurricular and expand it to the lower grades. However, this is not my decision to make and I respect the school board's choice. I'll never forget the team with the coolest uniforms and the most beautiful swerve drive I've ever seen. D'Penguineers have truly left behind a legacy of inspiration.

[gblake]

Originally Posted by Tom Ore

Maybe they're trying to preserve the legacy of 1717 as it was. Maybe a new team will form eventually with a new team #.

Originally Posted by holazola

Ding! I think we have a winner. I very much believe this. To grow his program, Amir has always been obsessed with DPEA's public image. I suspect he won't ever risk that legacy in other's hands.

And, unfortunately I doubt the school will support a new FRC team, even as extra-curricular. I expect every bit of FRC infrastructure and engineering support (professional and volunteer) will be re-purposed into mechatronics (which looks to be a good program - I'm not knocking IT)

We will learn more tomorrow night at a school meeting.

Who am I? An unhappy parent of a current DPEA student.

My goodness, YES!

FIRST is NOT a school program. It is a STEM program. Schools often are the organizations that choose to form a team; but being a school entity is 100% not the only way a team can be organized.

If any of the students and parents from the 1717 community (or any other community)want to form a team they can. Within the limits of good taste, graciousness, and trademark law, they can call themselves anything they want. They can petition FIRST for the privilege of using the 1717 team number. They can recruit sponsors. They can find a meeting/work location. They can ...

Or not - they get to decide.

When more STEM teams exist outside schools than in them, that will be one indication that a true cultural change has occurred.

Know what I mean?

Blake

[Kevin Leonard]

Originally Posted by gblake

When more STEM teams exist outside schools than in them, that will be one indication that a true cultural change has occurred.

Spotlighted. Extremely well put, gblake.

[Mike Marandola]

This is really sad and unfortunate. Back in 2008, when I was a freshman on Galileo, 1717 was the first non Philly/Finger Lakes team I saw in FIRST. I was blown away the first time I saw one of their machines and I have been every year since.

[Jacob Bendicksen]

While I can understand the thinking behind the decision to move to Mechatronics rather than FRC, it's a huge loss for the FIRST community. Hopefully they can stick around in an extracurricular format, but if not, they'll be missed.

Congrats on an amazing 10 years, 1717.

[Calvin Hartley]

I've always been a fan of 1717. They and their robots will be missed. Best wishes for the new program!

[jankBS]

Disclaimer: The following opinion is purely my own and does not represent Team 1717 or the DPEA.

As a freshly graduated member of Team 1717, I respect the new Mechatronics project, but I personally do not feel that it adequately replaces all the aspects of FRC that attracted me in the first place. While the Mechatronics project continues teaching the broad spectrum of STEAM topics much like the 3 preceding years of DPEA classes, Robotics provided the freedom to pick my favorite subject (CAD) and specialize in it, as well as a longstanding team history and diverse global community to inspire me.

As a capstone project, FRC's rigorous and stressful build season generated a team bonding experience like no other. Together we watched the release of the game video. Together we brainstormed and prototyped mechanisms. Together we spent long nights iterating and reiterating designs to perfection. Participating in Team 1717 developed my design and CAD skills exponentially, but more than that, I gained a true passion for mechanical engineering and the inspiration to drive myself forwards. The imposing time challenges, the myriad of supportive and technical chief delphi threads, and seeing other teams at regionals and St. Louis all contributed to my inspiration.

Robotics bequeathed upon me a wealth of knowledge and a drive to continue facing down obstacles in my future. While I can understand that Mechatronics may produce better rounded graduates, by consigning each senior to more standardized work and slotting it into the regular school day, inspirational value is lost.

I am very upset by the decision to cut Team 1717. Robotics is the most influential activity that I have ever participated in, and its surprise cancellation came as a nasty shock. I've lost the chance to mentor 1717 during my breaks, many rising seniors have lost a dream, and Dos Pueblos has lost a jewel of inspiration.

I hope Mechatronics is able to maintain the legacy of 1717 in future success.

[VioletElizabeth]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZHaTGiakZM


This video encapsulates what I will remember about 1717. This robot danced across the field, graceful as any human dancer. Its beauty captured my imagination, and I'm sure many others'. This team is legendary, and will be missed--thanks for all the inspiration.

[Rman1923]

Really unfortunate. 1717 is a team that inspires me every year and a great FIRST team. Reading through this thread made me love this team even more. I hope that the school district realizes that by retiring this team, they aren't only uninspiring the kids on the team, but many in the FIRST community. Really going to miss this team and really hope that they come back as mentors or another team to keep inspiring the people of FIRST.

[waialua359]

Originally Posted by Rman1923

Really unfortunate. 1717 is a team that inspires me every year and a great FIRST team. Reading through this thread made me love this team even more. I hope that the school district realizes that by retiring this team, they aren't only uninspiring the kids on the team, but many in the FIRST community. Really going to miss this team and really hope that they come back as mentors or another team to keep inspiring the people of FIRST.

As a mentor who has worked in a school system for many years, I'm not sure its the school district that is necessarily retiring the team vs. the mentors (director) deciding not to participate in FIRST anymore.
Every great program starts with "volunteering" a whole lot more than what they get back in terms of compensation. The rewards are usually to help inspire students. If I saw a team who decided to finally give up FRC because they want to move in a different direction or possibly not be able to give up their precious time anymore, I'd respect that.
While it may be disappointing to many in the FIRST community, it seems as their alternative is a great capstone course for their learning center. I wish them nothing but the best and hope that the FRC program in Santa Barbara can continue in some alternative form.
On a personal note, if part of the decision is to protect the legacy of 1717 because of new leadership, I would totally understand and respect that as well.

[Citrus Dad]

Originally Posted by jankBS

I am very upset by the decision to cut Team 1717. Robotics is the most influential activity that I have ever participated in, and its surprise cancellation came as a nasty shock. I've lost the chance to mentor 1717 during my breaks, many rising seniors have lost a dream, and Dos Pueblos has lost a jewel of inspiration.

Brian, you don't need to just mentor 1717--we'll take you if you're in Davis! Or where do you live? We can connect you with another team.

[mathking]

This news has caused me to do some serious thinking about the direction of our program. I was one of three teachers who founded 1014 back in 2003, but the other two had to drop out after the first year. (Though one of them graciously came back to help chaperone our 2004 and 2005 regional and championship trips.) It took a lot of work. The team might have folded in the third or fourth year if my athletic director had not volunteered to cover some of the meeting for me, giving me back a little bit of time with my family. I was also lucky to have some really good Ohio State engineering students to help mentor. As the team grew (from not quite 20 students to now consistently in the 60s or 70s) we also picked up more mentor support. For the last eight years I have had at least one (and now two) other teachers to help.

Through all of that, one of the things I have been most concerned about is keeping the team from dying when I step back. I don't want the program to be about me. I don't want it to be "my program." I want it to be the team that the school (or in our case the school district, since all three high schools share a team) has. I want it to be just like the football team or the band. When the teacher leading it resigns they get someone else to do the job. Thanks to the painstaking efforts of one of our school board members there is now a small stipend which the teachers split. It is not a lot of money, but the fact that there is a stipend is important because it means that when I resign there will be a position to fill.

I am one of the founders of the Central Ohio Robotics Initiative, which is a group of local business leaders and educators pushing to expand the reach of FIRST so that every kid has an opportunity to participate. My personal goal is to win an Ohio Capital Conference (our athletic conference) title in Robotics before I retire. We have 7 teams at schools in the conference so far (actually representing 14 of the 32 high schools) so I don't think it is out of reach. I want this because that would mean that FRC has become something that every (or at least almost every) school does. FRC competition is relatively expensive, but when you compare its cost to other sports it is actually pretty typical. And it is the most transformative activity I have ever done. Just to be clear, I also coach cross country and track & field, and I am a big believer in the importance of sports teams, music programs, theater programs and all kinds of other extra and co-curricular activities. I am NOT saying FRC is better, just that I want to get to a point where having a team becomes the norm.

So in my rambling way, I am saying that this discussion is making me think about the future. I want to insure that the program survives when I am no longer running it. In my career I have taken over teaching and coaching for some long time, highly successful (and locally legendary) teachers and coaches. Each time they gave me the advice to lead the program the way I think it should go. And not to worry if I think changes are needed. I want to make sure that when I pass the torch team 1014 won't miss a beat.

[sanddrag]

And this is why FIRST as a national organization needs to integrate themselves with education rather than separate themselves from it.