For our team’s first year our goal was simple: build a robot that moves. And we accomplished that goal by building a robot from a kit and receiving help from other teams in Louisville. Even after reaching our goal, we finished dead last because our robot wasn’t very good and we were very confused, as FTC is very complex.

This year, our team wanted to improve, and we achieved just that. Our robot was significantly better, as it was custom-designed and built. Even with these improvements, we overlooked aspects like judging and didn’t fundraise much, making it difficult to buy parts. These factors led to us finishing in the middle of the pack.

This year, our goals were simple: we wanted to make it into the top five. We also knew that we could no longer overlook aspects like judging, outreach, and fundraising. We started by acquiring a new drivetrain and building a prototype out of cardboard and zip ties; over the season, that evolved into the sturdy, well-scoring robot we have today. Our efforts paid off when we finished in the second-place alliance.