Well the State Tournament was today, ALL DAY LONG. I had no idea what to expect but the kids were real pros because all of them had been in at least one competition before this one. In fact, the team, or what was left of it from last year, won the best teamwork trophy the year before. What an honor for them.
You have to remember these kids are 9 to 15 years old. They’re learning how to do research because they had to do a presentation on something they learned about possibly solving or helping stop global warming. They’re learning how to work together as a team. They’re learning problem solving. They’re learning to be cool under pressure and how to present an idea they have developed. A lot of adults don’t have those skills and yet they are all very important skills to succeed in the world today.
They’re programing a robot that they themselves built usually from their own design. That’s engineering. They’re not just ‘playing with Legos’, they’re building skills that will follow them through the rest of their lives and help them excel in what ever it is they decide to do. I learned so much from these kids, far more than they learned from me. One main thing I learned is that I have to do more research into being a good coach because I really want these kids to do far better than they did this year.
This was a tough year for them. They first of all lost their sponsor which was a local college and also meant they lost a place to practice. The professor that started the team with the backing of the college, chose to pay himself so the team could go on. They lost 5 team members, a coach and 3 mentors which had been the fathers of some of the kids that quit. Then a local church donated a place for the kids to practice, and three mothers stepped up to coach the kids. I came in as a mentor but only the last few weeks before the competition.
I wish I could have known about the team earlier. The mother that coached these kids did a great job and we are all planning a much better year with meetings once a month, field trips for the kids, and anything else we can come up with to keep them interested and excited about what they do. One mother is looking into food sponsors for the meetings. If she can get one pizza place to donate pizza one month, I bet their competition will donate another one. Pretty smart, huh? I’ll let you know what we’re up to next.