The next four years

The best part of joining robotics as a freshman is getting to stick with the same team. As members rejoin the following year, the robotics coaches try to keep the teams together. 

“I think there is value in splitting teams up if they don’t get along, but unless they request it, I like to try to keep a group of kids together for all four years,” Romeo said.

Team 8995M, Mustang Voltage, was a team of six seniors who graduated in 2020. They were together from their freshman year to their senior year. Being a team for all four years helped them work efficiently together. 

“Even by junior year, 8995M, you could tell that these guys were just a well-oiled machine,” Romeo said. “They knew exactly what they needed to do, they could rely on each other for it. It was really cool to watch and see, compared to freshman year.”

By sticking together year after year, 8995M was able to grow as a team. 8995E agrees that they want to keep working as a team throughout their high school robotics careers. Without the intense stress of Vex competitions, Rao believes they were able to refine their skills and use their experiences to be better team members.

“Hopefully, next year we’ll get to build in person,” Rao said. “By that point, I feel like this boot camp and our experiences together will help us be able to bond and be really good at building robots when we already have that team connection.”

Sharma believes that their potential time together will help them grow closer together as friends. 

“I am looking forward to the fact that we’ll be able to be very comfortable with each other,” Sharma said. “We’ll know each other a lot better. We’ll be able to be more ourselves, and less of a refined version of ourselves as we are over Zoom and while we’re trying to get to know each other.”

This year is a once in a lifetime experience for almost every club. 8995E took this opportunity by the reins to make it the best season they could.

“This is a different experience and probably something we’ll never get again,” Rao said.