January 30, 2014 at 5:54 p.m.
RHS robot club prepared for battle
RHS robot club prepared for battle
Huddled around their robot Thursday afternoon, the team members - nicknamed the Robo-Hodags - frantically tried to figure out what was wrong.
If this was last year, the club's first year in existence, panic might have set in or arguments erupted.
Not this year.
This year, the Robo-Hodags are calm, cool and collected. They worked diligently to solve the problem and within moments their robot was working better than anything seen in Star Trek, Star Wars or any programming found on the SyFy Network.
The team's calm demeanor comes from experience, something this year's team has in spades thanks to its second-place finish at last year's competition.
"We've learned a ton since last year. We've got some kids that have been through this already, that know what's going on and that's helped a lot," advisor Mike Wojtusik said. "We've got some very dedicated students that have put in a ton of time on this. I would say we're much further ahead than we were last year. We know a lot more than we did at this point last year."
One of the dedicated students Wojtusik was referring to is RHS senior Max Rich, the team's senior leader. Watching him calmly run point on the last-minute fixes to the robot, it's easy to see why Wojtusik gave Rich that title.
Rich said the experience last year - building the robot and competing in the competition - has served him well in the run-up to this year's battle.
"I learned that it really is heavily team-oriented and that in order for it to work at all, the team has to work together," Rich said.
"It's taught me a lot about the things I'm not good at and also some things I didn't know I was good at."
Rich is humble and reflective when discussing his status as senior leader.
"It's difficult (being called the leader), especially when I don't know what's going on, but I like being able to bring ideas to the table and I like being able to bring stuff from last year, but even though I am a senior member, I still am learning from everyone else here. I still need their help," Rich said.
Last year, the team was gearing up to take part in a challenge that required their robot to pick up rings and place them on various posts around the arena. The robot was also required to lift an opposing robot off of the ground.
This year the challenge is different. The robot must pick up blocks to be placed in boxes positioned on a teeter-totter and then head to the corner of the arena to raise up a flag.
Rich said he thinks the Robo-Hodags have a good shot at bringing home the gold.
"I think we have the potential to (win)," he said. "We need to practice a little more on driving it, but I do think we have a good chance at going far in the competition."
Marcus Nesemann may be reached at [email protected].
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