now i am glad i did rebump this to the tops
The original poster is spot on. I will print this out and read it to my team every year after we ship. Great post. I can’t say enough about it. It’s what FIRST is all about.
Looks like we missed last year :ahh:
I really feel that this thread applies not just to rookies, but to vets as well. Seeing robots like 148, 254 and 100 (and others) have posted here can turn pride into envy pretty quickly. The matches have not yet been played, the game is not yet over. These robots have proven themselves “great” through some videos of stationary trailers. You still have plenty of time to prove your robot and your team are great both on and off the field, this year and in the years to come.
Whether you’re the swerve driving, fan assisted, power dumping, 30 balls per second machine or the “Brave Little Toaster” running for your life, you will be a critical piece of every alliance you play on this year. This game is truly a team game and will require every robot on an alliance to be giving their all in order to achieve victory.
Remember we’re pulling for you, we’re all in this together.
Another warm welcome to rookies. You are just about to discover that everything good you’ve heard about is TRUE. I’m in this 'cause it’s the most fun and exciting activity that I’ve encountered in high school in almost 20 years of teaching. AND the people I’ve met personally all really do follow the FIRST directive about gracious professionalism. I tell parents and students alike who have questions about getting involved to think carefully, that they are entering a second family. I feel personal comittment to all of my FIRST students and their mentors and advisors. I expect to be called upon if they need me, and I expect their support if I need them. It is, for me, professional (I’m a teacher!) and totally emotional. I LOVE the kids involved, the other teachers and mentors involved, and usually shed a tear or two over the robots. Good luck, ask for help if you need it (like everyone has told you) and HAVE FUN!!!
we just shipped, fully funcutioning:D
cant wait for the regional
our rookie team 2797, shipped too:D
Congratulations to you guys!
One thing I love about ship day is how everybody, from the rookie to the ten-plus-year veteran, can feel accomplishment and pride in what they’ve spent the last six weeks pouring their hard work, time, blood, sweat, and tears into.
Also, I enjoy restoring a normal sleep cycle. But not as much as the first thing.
One of my very favorite parts of FRC is seeing the tired but beaming smiles on the faces of the students and the mentors of a rookie team at the end of build season. In some small way (or perhaps large way), they have been transformed and have begun the process of building a team. It never gets old.
Time to bring up another post I have bookmarked from my adventures through the spotlights.
Congratulations to all the rookies for making it through your first FRC build season!!
i know its been tough for rookies this season. this may include a lack of funding, manpower, or skill. but this is not the end. you will have the time of your life at your first frc competition, whether you win or lose. not only is this a competition, but a culture. each regional is like a party for our own little culture 
Kinda funny - when I originally wrote that post I was with SPAM; I’ve mentored 2 rookie teams since then and it certainly applied to us looking from the other side
Digging the Possum Lodge reference. GO GO RED GREEN!
[/offtopic]
[ontopic] That was a heck of a read. I never saw this thread before it got bumped this last time. Anyone who goes to the Michigan Championships, if they’re still at the Convocation Center at EMU, I’ll probably be there. Look for me in my vintage Team 240 TEMPEST Robotics shirt, or my Button Mail Armor.[/ontopic]
P.S.: I still need to finish that ****ed thing. If you have buttons, I’ll take one of each variant. Also, Am I the only one with all 5 Gearheads buttons?
yes… i hope everyone on all teams feel accomplished at what they have done… even if you only made one part on the robot, you were a big help… without that part the robot wouldn’t function properly… so good luck to all the teams and see you at the regionals
Hard to believe this was from FIVE years ago (our rookie year), and it still fits perfectly. Very nice, Gary, and thanks again.