The Plymouth High School Robotics Team returned on Sunday after a three-day contest with an outstanding placing in the VEX World Championship at the Kentucky Exposition Center in Louisville. Although not advancing to the elimination rounds, PHS 586A team did place 22nd out of 90 teams in their division. Coach Rich Schieber said, “That’s not too bad for our 2nd year robotics program-against 450 teams from around the world.”
During the preliminary competition, the pairings are created randomly by computer. Throughout the event, other teams observe the rounds and make notes about which teams are the strongest in such areas as design or trouble shooting. As the final teams are formed, they use a system referred to by Schieber as a “school yard pick” as they form alliances and decide who would make good partnerships.
Scheiber is in his third year of teaching in the Plymouth Schools, but had started robotics clubs in schools in both Ohio and Southern Indiana previously.
Making the trip to Louisville were Jeremy Shidler (senior), Zacc Hutchings (Junior), and Lauren Wiegand (sophomore). Teammate Michael Eads (freshman) was unable to make the trip due to a previous commitment.
Coach Ken Robinson said, “They spent a lot of time preparing. They were not afraid to put in the time to get to the upper levels.”
In addition to Scheiber, the team was accompanied to the tournament by WSOI (Weidner School of Inquiry) math teacher Lindsay Moore. Moore participated in robotics teams in her high school years in Kokomo. She graduated from Purdue University with an engineering degree before obtaining her certification in education. Moore said, “When I had the opportunity to go and see the shop (PHS), I was hooked. Coaching the team allows me to use my engineering knowledge and teaching skills.” She added, “They are a passionate group of students and coaches.” Moore said, “All of the work belongs to the kids. The coaching role is to brainstorm with them to find alternative solutions, help trouble shoot, and help them solve design challenges.”
According to Scheiber, the team received the Design Award at the state level that qualified them to the World Championship.
The PHS 586A team and 576B teams traveled to Council Bluffs, Iowa from April 7-9 to compete in the CREATE U.S. Open Robotics Championship. Team 586A finished 36th in their division and team 586B finished 63rd in their division.
The team coaches are optimistic about the years to come. Robinson said, “They are a good group of underclassman who are already planning for the future.”
One of the biggest challenges will be to find sponsorship for the team. Scheiber said they were funded for the first two years by the school corporation, but will need to find individual or corporate sponsorships for competitions in the future. Scheiber said he is also hoping for robotics to become part of the PHS curriculum at some point, but teams will still need financial sponsorships as a club activity for competitions. He said, “It opens up all kinds of opportunities.”
Carol Anders Correspondent
