Team SCREAM, Smith-Cotton High School’s competitive robotics program, is ready to go the extra mile this year as new members have been added to the group.
Because of previous large numbers of students wanting to join, this year the team had an application and interview process for recruiting. This way, Head Coach Kyle Stoecklein could search through the applicants and find people who will be dedicated and willing to do the job and put in the extra effort.
Kurstin Wilkerson, a senior at S-C, was one of the 16 chosen out of 23 who applied to join and is part of the communications team. Her job is to run the social media part of the group and take pictures.
“The application and process of getting accepted is more like a job application, but more personable,” Wilkerson said. She is excited for this year and expects good things to come for competition.
Potential members had to explain the reasons they wanted to join, share their skills, and describe how they think they would benefit the team. Stoecklein set guidelines on the requirements to get accepted: The students must have good grades (nothing lower than a C), they must demonstrate creative thinking, they must be driven to do something futuristic, and they must seem like they would fit in and work well with the current members on the team.
“This year we have expectations of keeping our strong traditions alive and being one of the most competitive teams in the competition.” Stoecklein said.
Each year, the FIRST Robotics challenge has a theme that helps reveal what type of game it will be. The theme for the game this year is “steampunk,” and Stoecklein has a hunch that it has an adventure vibe, giving him some insight on how to get the team prepared. This season’s game and rules will be revealed on Jan. 7.
“We are definitely trying to win a regional this year and make it to (the world championships in St. Louis) again, since we missed our opportunity last year.” Stoecklein said.
Matthew Walker, a senior and Team SCREAM member, said the frustration from missing out on Worlds last year got to the previous seniors because it was their last year.
“In terms of making a comeback, it’s going to be difficult.” Walker said. “We just took a big hit with a lot of our team graduating, so our primary goal will probably be rebuilding and training the new team.”
Team SCREAM
s robot, Tempest, competes in a match at the FIRST Robotics Kansas City Regional in March. The game, FIRST Stronghold, required having robots score points by shooting balls into low and high goals.
Team SCREAM
s robot, Tempest, competes in a match at the FIRST Robotics Kansas City Regional in March. The game, FIRST Stronghold, required having robots score points by shooting balls into low and high goals.