Well-Deserved Recognition of Team 25

FIRST General Forum
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(Before I start, just a quick background: Hi, my name is Ryan Hall, and I am a junior in high school, and Co-CEO for FRC Team 1676, the Pascack Pi-oneers, neighbors to Raider Robotix. Over the past few years I have grown to know Team 25, and figured I would share this amazing story with the rest of the FIRST world. I’m not that much of a writer, but hopefully I will get the message across).

After we returned back from Championships this year, as any FIRST-obsessed teenager would, I visited Team 25’s website, and stumbled upon this article through a link. In it, Head Coach Wayne Cokeley told an account from 2006, the year he won a WWFA, and their team was 31-0-0 going into Champs, winning both the NJ and Las Vegas Regionals, as well Chairman’s in NJ.

After winning the Newton Division in Atlanta with Teams 968 and 195, they wound up in the finals of Einstein, against 217, 296, and 522. They had already once won the World Champions in 2000. After losing the first match due to 195 not working properly, they learned that a team on the opposing alliance, 296, had broken a masterlink of their chain on their shooter, and did have a replacement part. Raider Robotix, however, did have one on hand. They could have easily done nothing, and most likely would have won the finals. But, being the graciously professional team that they are, they lent the opposing team the needed part, even though they were playing against them, and were already down a match. Although they ended up losing by 4 points 94-98, they felt no remorse for their action, and shrugged it off as if it was no big deal, and did what they felt was right. In the end, Dean sent this letter to the team, appreciating the team’s remarkable act of kindness.

Fast forward to 2012, but the same setting: the finals of Einstein. Again, a robot on the opposing alliance from 25, Team 987, became broken. As Marc, the drive coach of the High Rollers, reports, Shaun, the drive coach from 25, as well as mentors from 180 and 16 went over to the team, and told officials that they wanted to use their time out for them, so that everyone would be completely working in the finals. Again, instead of remaining quiet, and thinking nothing of it, they generously did their best to assist a team they were playing against, risking another chance at the Championship trophy. This time, they managed to pull ahead, and, after aiding 987 with their repairs, ended up winning their 2nd World Championship title.

So, Team 25, (and I’m sure I speak for many here) thank you for all that you have done for FIRST. Thank you for constantly looking out for and helping others, and being an amazingly inspirational role model to others. Our team certainly respects you tremendously, and can only aspire to be like you, as I’m sure a myriad of others do as well. You are certainly a high-class team, and gratefully deserve a magnificent amount of praise.

Mr. Cokeley, Shaun, Bharat, Kristian, and all of the other Raider Robotix team members, mentors, alumni, and parents who I haven’t yet had the honorable opportunity to meet, you certainly have an absolutely marvelous group, and I wish you the best in all of your endeavors in the future. We can’t wait to see you all again next year.

(P.S.: To all of those still wondering what’s in Shaun’s backpack…all I can say is keep an eye out and be patient ;))

(P.P.S.: Yes Sue, your dream of becoming an inspiration has come true :))

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I remember hearing this story, when I got involved in 2007. It was one of the stories that inspired me and wanted to make me work harder in spreading FIRST. I did not know that the same sort of situation occurred this year, and am at not at all surprised. 25 is a truly a Chairman’s team, and I strive to achieve the same values that Raider Robotix exemplifies.

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It’s hard to belief that the last time they won Chairman’s was back then, 6 years ago.

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Is it true that next year is 25’s last year as an FRC team?

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This is an amazing story. I’ll make sure to share it with the other students on my team, who I hope will be equally inspired by the caliber of professionalism displayed by team 25. Thank you for sharing this story, it gave me chills :slight_smile:

These sorts of stories remind me what’s really important in FIRST, and why it’s such an amazing program.

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I had the pleasure of working with several students and mentors from 25 when they came down to the VA regional last year. They jumped right into the effort of helping to get an assortment of Rookie robots to pass inspection Thursday morning and worked tirelessly throughout the event lending a hand when needed.

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I’m disappointed in how little this story is passed around on our team. Seriously, I didn’t even know it was team 25 that helped us win in 2006.

On behalf of the Northern Knights, I commend thee for your gracious professionalism, and for being the best men and women for others you could be. Thank you team 25!

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So far rumors, nothing is confirmed, till registration time. I kind of doubt it though. They’re a really strong team in all aspects, I’d be surprised if North Brunswick High’s administration let the team fall apart.

Also, a photo of a special pep rally their school held (off of facebook):
http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/p480x480/536703_10150843904649086_354617539085_9640944_1054540256_n.jpg

I’m from NJ so I know their sports programs a bit, and it’s funny because their robotics team probably has more banners than their sports teams.

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All I heard was that they were all saying that after next year, and going to a very far travel regional, they would disband the team because they are all tired of competing after 25 years.

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Rumors of our death have been greatly exaggerated.

1 Like
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I remember hearing this also when I started in 2008, I never knew it was team 25 though. I heard the same exact story and either forgot the teams or was never told. I’ve repeated the story to my team many times, especially at events where we were in a similar situation.

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It was actually 968 who loaned them the masterlink.

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Congratulations to Team 25. You guys not only have a knack for scoring foam balls, but are very classy while doing it.

You’re killing me - He (supposedly) spills the contents for the world to see on Einstein, but only those close enough/not watching the webcast get to know the secret? Seriously?

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Yeah, it was really an act of the whole alliance (of us, 968, and 195) so both those teams definitely deserve any credit/recognition/praise from it.

Mr. Cokeley wrote a bit about it earlier in April on our website as a sort of “look back” thing, which is where I think the confusion came from.

His exact words were “In the interim between rounds word got to our alliance that a member of the competitor’s alliance had broken a linkage or something and didn’t have a replacement part. Our alliance had the needed part and we gave it over so they could play. It was no big deal. It was the right thing to do.”

You can read his full post here. The letter we (and I’m assuming our two alliance partners) received from Dean Kamen afterwards is posted here.

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As I said, “keep an eye out and be patient.” You might be in for a surprise :yikes:

Ah, okay, I was not aware of that. Based on the letter (which I previously thought only you received), I thought it was 25 who had the part on hand. 968 and 195, much congrats and thanks to you; you deserve great commendation as well =).

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The PBS New Hour (or whatever they called it back then) did a really nice story about FIRST Robotics in 2006. It mentioned this episode as an example of what was so different and good about FIRST. Here is a link to a transcript of the story. I don’t know if the video is still available.

In the 2012 Galileo quarter-finals (1718/1918/2337 vs. 180/25/16), we struggled with electrical problems. We used our time-out between the first and second matches and identified a sidecar problem between the second and third matches. Somebody lent us a spare (I don’t know who, but thanks) and our opponents offered to take their time-out so we could get fixed. We didn’t need it, but the whole experience is another classic example of what makes FIRST such a great place to be. 25 is still a great team, but they are not alone.

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Indeed. Team 25 may change, people come and go, but even if all the mentors were to leave (however unlikely), don’t you think there’d be others who can fill those roles?

Mentor Burnout is a serious issue for most every team, high-performing teams moreso, but that’s not why most teams disappear.

^^^What Ryan Said…:smiley:

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The true definition of a role model team is one that other teams will try to emulate. If I were to establish a coin jar in our shop that made someone deposit a nickel every time someone said “Well, this is the way 25 did/does it,” we would probably empty it twice during the build season. I’ve said before that when I;'m behind the glass, I am usually very focused, but when 25 was steamrolling us in various elimination matches the last few years, I couldn’t do much but be in awe.

“The Want to Win” is a culture my graduating class of 2012 has left behind for other students to use. Winning may not be everything, but it’s a challenge that we now set in front of ourselves that we didn’t in the past. It;s a goal we set to make ourselves better than we have been. It’s a long, messy road, but a light sits at the end of it.

I know 25 and other MAR teams that we played in 2 New Jersey Regionals and 2 Virginia Regionals over the last few years helped change the perception on the team from a club that builds a robot to a team that builds people.

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Congratulations. Team 25 as our neighbors in NJ we always welcome your efforts on behalf of FIRST. We also appreciate that this year was an outstanding year for your team and your efforts. We look forward to seeing what you accomplish in the future.

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During a time of travels, I traveled to New Jersey to check out their off season, Brunswick Eruption. Watching teams run an off season is a very telling experience and I was very impressed with the event and the way it was run. I met many people, fell in love with New Jersey, and was inspired to learn more, do more, and be more. 25 has that effect on people.

I think part of that is because they are so human and yet, so focused on excellence. The human parts always seem to center around things like having batteries fall out on the road, running out of gas, and eating at really great and fun restaurants. The excellence is not just in performance, it is in the level of discussions that they willingly have with guests from out-of-town who want to learn about team structure, off season events, being human, and catching the excellence fever. I’m very grateful for such powerful alumni such as Kristian, Morgan, and Alexa. They continue to support their team in the best ways that they can and to make an impact on people like me. It’s pretty special.

Jane