Robotics looks forward to season, shares goals

   After having a team make it to World’s last year, Mundelein’s robotics teams are motivated to “carry on the legacy” during the upcoming season. 

   “[Getting to Worlds] was an uncharted territory,” Robotics Coach Manny Aldana said. “I think that we represented Mundelein well. We only aim to top that this year.”

   In order to work towards “topping that,” the teams will hope to improve on “better preparation [and] better representation,” according to Aldana.

   “Having a team make it to worlds last year definitely raised the bar for us this year,” Senior Freddy Song said. “Most of the members who made it to worlds have graduated so, [especially for my team of all seniors,] we really feel the pressure to push the standard that was set last year.” 

   Song also mentions that the teams are hoping to improve on their performance “early in the season.”

   “Last season we consistently got very close, but we never won any regional tournaments,” Song said. “We want to get that out of the way early so we don’t have to worry about winning regionals and getting qualified later in the season.”

   Another hopeful improvement, noted by Senior Website Coordinator Sam Nevergall, is around how the “teams complement each other during the alliance rounds at competitions.” 

   “Last year, we had two bots that each excelled at separate components of the game, so since they had so much time to practice together, they scored a lot of points even under the pressure of competitions,” Nevergall said. “I hope the club as a whole can learn from their example and try something similar this season.”

   Along with thinking about improvements, robotics members plan ahead for possible challenges to overcome.

   “We lost some valuable leaders in the club who graduated last year. Those are some big shoes to fill,” Nevergall said. “But at the same time, our club has more teams than ever, and I’ve loved seeing the numbers grow over the four years I’ve been involved.”