State Championship surprise!

I've posted a couple of times about the progress of our First Lego League team.  This is my first year coaching, and our family's second year being involved.

Being on a First Lego League team is often intense, time consuming, and emotionally draining.  It certainly has its rewards, though. The learning experiences it provides would be difficult to find elsewhere and I'm glad my kids have such opportunities to participate.  Of course, a little recognition makes all that hard work and effort worth it even more.

After a practice tournament and winning the Championship Award at our qualifying tournament, our team, the X-Bots, attended the State Championship tournament this past weekend.  There were 46 other teams, who earned their spot by being a high scorer at their own qualifying tournament, in the tournament.  We knew the competition would be tough.

Our robot didn't perform as expected, but we ended up in 14th place for the robot game anyhow. Not bad, but the kids were a little disappointed since practice runs at the table resulted in higher points.  A program that consistently ran at the practice table would fail during game time.  Surprise number one for the day.

The three interview areas - core values (teamwork), project presentation, and the technical interview - seemed to go ok.  I really didn't have a good feel for how they compared, though.  We'd find out after lunch, when they announce "callbacks" for the top teams.  The callback time came and went with no word.  The kids were a bit disappointed.  Then, after about 30 minutes past the callback time, we received notice that our team was indeed called back for not one, but two interviews.  Furthermore, in one area they were up for two different awards.  Surprise number two for the day.

The second interviews took place in front of a crowded room of judges.  The kids did great.  I was very proud of them.  With being a top scorer in three areas, I was pretty confident that they would receive at least one subcategory trophy.

The awards ceremony finally came. Our team sat with anticipation.  Award after award was called, but the X-Bots was not named.  All of the callback areas, where they had the highest chance,an came and went. The kids shoulders drooped a bit.  It was a tough competition.  The team did well, but it looked like it wasn't enough to earn a top score in any single category.  Surprise number three for the day.

I could see the defeat and the kids started not paying much attention to the announcer.  There were only two awards left.  Next up, the award for the Finalist (Runner-Up/Second Place) was called.. X-Bots!  There was a lag before any of the kids responded.  They were shocked!  Surprise number four, and a nice one at that.

The day was filled with up and down surprises, but certainly had a happy ending.  As a tournament Finalist, we are next in line to attend the World Festival should the other team not be able to go.  That would be the grand-daddy of surprises for the X-Bots.

First Lego League, a learning experience for all!

This is the second year that my kids have participated in First Lego League, but the first that I've been involved  as a coach.  Last year, we jumped on an opportunity to be a part of a last-minute team, funded by a grant.  Someone else coordinated. Someone else coached.  My part was to make sure they got to the meetings and help.  Because of our late start with a team of mostly rookies, it was mainly a conquer and divide to get things done.  Our goal was for the kids to have something to present at the competition.  Not only did the team meet that goal, but they went on to the State Championship and took Runner-Up for Creative Presentation.  Not bad for some strangers thrown together at the last minute.

This year we had more time to plan.  The original team decided to split and form two teams, and grow each.  There were some logistic issues with almost an hour between some of the families, the primary reason for the split.  It left us with three members on my kids' team.  We held an interest meeting through 4-H (the original team formed a 4-H club) for those who might want to join the existing teams.  It was a great response that resulted in four teams total, with a total of 10 kids on our team.

Ten kids.  Ten middle school kids.  Ten kids is the maximum allowed for a FLL team.  Now I know why. It has had its challenges.  Among the 10 kids, there are three sibling groups, a variety of personalities, and a five year age gap.  There have been varying levels of expectations among the adults, which always makes things interesting for a coach, especially a coach that really hadn't planned on being a coach.  That was the role I landed in, and it has been quite the learning experience.

This past Saturday we had a practice tournament.  There were 54 teams, some of them with quite a bit of experience.  The tournament is run just like a real qualifying tournament, but it doesn't count as one.  The kids learned a ton.  I learned a ton.  And we all had fun.

Goofing around while cheering on our team on the floor

Taking a break in the pit area

Line dancing while the judges calculate the scores

A tense moment during the robot game

This Saturday is our real qualifying tournament for the State Championship. I think the team has a great chance of advancing to the next level. Even if they don't, I will know that everyone learned. Everyone had fun.  Everyone did his or her best.  And that is all that matters.