Tribute 2004
From Team1370
A tribute to our humble beginnings...
The team was spawned from the initiative of Mr. Robert Kelly (second row, first from the left), a busy teacher at Middletown High who gave up coaching football in order to lead our team to success. Having had previous experience with the FIRST© FRC program, he decided before the 2003 school year that he had a chance to spread this incredible opportunity to those of the Middletown area. With enthusiastic interest and the support from the local community, along with a zealous effort by Mr. Kelly himself, The Middletown Robotics Group was established and set to take part in the 2004 FIRST© FRC regionals.
It was shortly into the 2003 school year that the true team-building began. A new extra-curricular program at the already program-saturated Middletown High, Robotics was at first a rumored activity, and one that sounded likely to attract the so-called nerdy crowd. The year slowly progressed, and while interest in the program grew, the "team" was growing at a crawl. Not to be deterred, Mr.Kelly continued the program and by build season had recruited near a dozen students. Yet this was only the first of many hurdles to be overcome -- funding, lack of experience, and the 6-week deadline of build season were just around the bend.
Aided by grants from NASA and MBNA, along with school funding and sponsorship from several local companies, Mr.Kelly and the team managed to scrounge together the tens of thousands of dollars required to buy parts and attend the regional competitions. Not only our first year, this season proved to be the most prosperous one we have ever had. Of course, jumping the first hurdle didn't mean the end of the race.
With the unveiling of The Game in January, so began the mad dash called build season. Our team, enthusiastic about the prospects of building a real robot, had all the necessary vigor, but lacked any of the experience. We were a rag-tag group, students from all four grades and every type of class; a few kids from woodshop, a programmer, some slackers, a decent writer, a cheerleader. We knew the goals, we understood the pep talks, we had some materials and a couple instructions, but weeks started flying and no one had any idea what it was going to take to complete this massive project. It may not have been until the third week of build season that designs were finished, indeed much design took place right along-side construction, but work eventually got underway. Four weeks left, three weeks, two, the days were gone and the robot was a box on wheels. Someone built a roller, another person wired the electronics, motors were screwed onto plywood and Lexan®, our single programmer learned C on the spot, and in those last moment before shipping we had a marvolous plastic and metal box that we hoped would win a competition. We didn't even know if it would work.
Two more weeks of waiting were spent, waiting for the competition, waiting to see and test our contraption, waiting to find out what other teams had built. We made buttons -- ungodly amounts of buttons -- and some posters, organized the hoard of tools that were left awry, and on a Wednesday evening finally took off in state vans to the nearest competition: Drexel University. We arrived in Philadelphia less than two hours after leaving home, glad that we didn't have to be trapped in vans any longer, but then quickly spent out that remaining time searching for our hotel. Day one was thus completed, the night used for late night television and a slight bit of sleep -- we are teenagers, remember. The next morning was loud with groaning as the students awoke to wake-up calls, alarms, and thuds on the door. With new clothes on and stomachs full of that "delicious" continental breakfast, we grabbed our gear, headed off to the university, and poured inside.
Eyes wide in amazement, we now realized, in full technicolor, the wonders of the FIRST© competition. Huge projector screens, hulking speakers, a full-size field, a bustle of youths and mentors, the teams scrambling in their 10x10 pit areas to finish perfecting their creations. Robots were pulled out of their wooden shipping crates, shiny and new, other teams observing their soon to be opponents or allies, people meandering through the aisles of the pits, some being stopped by staff because they forgot to put on safety glasses. Our team scurried along, heads darting from side to side with the hope of drawing it all in, and thus with deep, head-clearing breaths, set to work.
Hours of testing, rewiring, reprogramming, and retesting went by until the robot behaved as we had wanted. Non-build crew members chatted amongst themselves and made friends with the other teams, began working out strategies, and without much else for any of us to do, day two was done.
Days three and four were perhaps the most spectacular of that entire year, their happenings an ecstatic representation of all FIRST© competitions. Crowds filled the previously empty stands, the smell of food wafting and mixing with metal and burnt plastic, the introduction ceremony commenced and completed, and with a thunderous cheer the competition began. "The red alliance"..."The blue alliance"..."The red alliance"... "point"..."score"..."winner"... in under three minutes the match was over and the next one already set to begin. Shocked at how fast this was going to pass, the team was on its toes as the matches progressed and our robot finally entered the field. Cheers and shouts rang out from the Middletown section of the stands, the announcer began the match, and time slowed down. The seconds ticked by for autonomous mode, our simple machine sitting still with its lack of sophisticated programming,... then the match really began. Our drivers grabbed the controls, gunning the tiny drill motors that powered the wheels, and the robot took off with a wheelie. Sucking up the balls that fell onto the field as part of the 2004 game, our boxy machine looked more like a cheap wobbling vaccuum than any sort of well thought out robot. Nevertheless, it performed admirably and inspired significant pride in those students who had built it. Match after match, it never flipped, rarely got stuck, and always scored a consistent amount of points. In fact, our selling point to teams at the end of qualifying was that we were stable and reliable -- which couldn't be said for several of the other teams. While we didn't hold onto a position in the top ten for those two days, we still maintained a ranking above twenty, and walked away from qualifying knowing that we had done well.
Finals for the regional took place Saturday, as is the custom, and though our team was not a first choice, we were successfully adopted by another such that we took place in the finals. The matches became more heated, the referrees' judging more criticized, and the games seemed to move even faster. Wins and losses went by, and at last our alliance was knocked off the charts. But even with a loss, as most teams will tell you, we all stick around untill the very end, smiles wide and now rooting for our favorites out of the teams left. The winners were awarded, as well as numerous other teams for such things as excellence in design, innovative ideas, and even team spirit.
The competition ended, the robots were packed up, ready to be shipped to other competitions for the year. We looked around one last time at the amazing place, hopeful that we would be back again soon and already awaiting the second competition of the season. Stepped back out into the sunlight and reality, we rode home along the dark, empty streets, minds abuzz but eyelids drooping, awakening from a seeming dream only to plunge real ones.
So I conclude this tale, awash in a dreamy state myself after recollecting the years now dusty with time, that same dreamy state I fell into after that first competition or after every following one. Ahh, those dreams which can be had, so bright when the mind is afly as this, no inhibitions to yank them out of their floating position in the air above. I remember vividly a sentence from those dreams, a statement repeated by our former leader Mr.Kelly and a dream itself that forever rings true:
Mission Statement: "Living a life that matters is a choice"
~~By Aaron Schultz~~
