Coosa Trail Blazers robotics team enjoys next level competition
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The Coosa Trail Blazers robotics team competed in the First Tech Challenge (FTC) this past weekend at Lee High School in Huntsville. The competition team; which includes Kaleb Ballard, Kyle Ballard, Matthew Eubanks, David Lee, Wyatt Kimbrell, and Erick Martinez; went before the judging panel where they were asked about their robot design, team outreach and mentorship and overall team structure.
They also submitted a copy of their engineering portfolio for evaluation. The team scored very well on the team planning and organization component.
The Trail Blazers then competed in six matches where they were paired with another FTC team to form an alliance. The alliance then worked together to form a strategy to score the most points during the competition. The Trail Blazers ended up placing seventeenth out of 27 teams at the end of the robot matches.
This was a great opportunity for the team to learn and grow since this was their rookie year competing at an FTC event. They previously competed in First Lego League robotics as the Master Builders. Moving up to FTC was a way for the team to challenge themselves.
According to data, First Tech Challenge students are four times as likely to pursue a career in engineering, twice as likely to pursue a career in science and technology and more than twice as likely to volunteer in their communities. First Tech Challenge also builds participants’ confidence and workforce skills and opens access to education and career discovery opportunities and connections to scholarships and employers.
The Trail Blazers are now preparing for the World War II Museum competition in New Orleans, Louisiana, where they will serve as event volunteers, in addition to mentoring the Central FLL team, the Master Builders, who will compete.
The Trail Blazers will also give a robot demonstration at the Miss CES Pageant on March 15. The Miss CES pageant is a fundraiser for both robotics teams and helps cover the cost of attending competitions and purchasing equipment.
Thank you to lead coach Meg Masters and technical coach Mike Eubanks, as well as Dre Burton, who serves as the team mentor.
