Fall sports is not the only thing starting up again. The robotics team, the Kuhnigits 1939, is also getting ready for the spring build season.
“I really hope for this year that the team can get reorganized. If we can do that, this year will be good,” said Jack Cuezze (‘24), one of the team’s CAD directors.
Last year, the robotics team ended the season well. The team ended up making it to the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition World’s Championship and placed 16th in their division. This year’s season looks promising, not only because of all the experience that is already on the team but also because of the new team members who will be contributing and learning.
Before the official start of the build season, the big competition during the preseason is CowTown Throwdown. It will take place on October 28th and 29th. Last year, Barstow did very well in CowTown, so hopefully, that carries on into this year.
There are many new things for the team this year. This year, Coach Wood resigned as Robotics coach, so the administration began the year looking for candidates to take over his old role. At the robotics meeting on September 15, there was an announcement about the new coach: Adam Arnold.
The students were excited to receive their new mentor. “We have a coach now! That’s a good thing,” Sriram Pattabiraman (‘24) exclaimed.
Cuezze (‘24) added, “The new coach seems promising. He was a very nice person.”
Along with a new coach, the robotics team has a new space; the IDEA Space, a new addition to Barstow’s campus. During the school day, regular classes take place there, such as woodworking and architecture. After school, it belongs to the robotics team.
“The IDEA Space is coming together finally. We are working on showing units and designing the layout to maximize what little space we were given,” Rian Jacobs (‘24) said.
The added space and resources should continue to excel the team. “Now, we are going to have a lot more space and tools as a team which will be very helpful,” Cuezze (‘24) said.
Along with the Upper School robotics season, there is a lower school one. It is the FIRST Lego League or FLL that happens every Tuesday. A few of the Upper School robotics members help out the middle school team to get some volunteer hours.
Anyone can join the robotics team. There are many different components that make the team thrive, and not all of it has to do with building the robot. While the mechanical part of the team is important, there is also programming/electrical, scouting, and the business and marketing part. Not everyone on the robotics team interacts with the robot. There are the other members of the robotics team that can help new members but also mentors and, of course, the coaches.
This year is only just starting for the robotics team and there is so much that is happening already.
