Students who are part of Rolla High School’s Robotics team are gearing up for yet another year of competition with FIRST Tech Challenge. With their goal to advance further and once again compete on the world stage.

“Robotic’s goal is to help future engineers and marketers and other skillsets in robotics. It is to build upon that while you are still young and to teach you leadership and goals and to function out in the real world. Giving you real world applications for things that you wanna do later in life,” Robotic’s coach Sarah Norbo said.

Norbo has been a coach at Rolla Robotics for about a year and a half. She became a coach after a friend’s suggestion to look into it. Leigh Ann Tumrink, current head coach of Rolla Robotics helped when starting the team. 

“Seven years ago, Phil Allan who worked at USGS contacted me and he wanted to start a team,” Tumbrink.

Students gain a lot from their involvement in robotics. Third year team member Michelle Woodley has seen the team as well as herself, grow.

“Last year was definitely the best because we actually got picked to go to the world’s event so we got to go to Saint Louis and we got to actually work with teams from all over the world like Russia, Germany. There were all sorts of different teams that we got to work with so it was just really incredible to go there and to be able to see all of these people from all around the world,” Woodley said.

Team building creates an atmosphere that helps the team share common goals.

“It is probably how much fun it is because you go the competitions and you get to see all of these people who all think the same way that you do, like not everybody thinks terms of motors and wheels and game strategy but when you go to competitions all of these people from everywhere do, and you have teams from russia and the only english that they know is the game parts, they only know the game parts. It’s just really cool to see that,” Woodley said.

First year contestant Tyler Crosby joined team 6168 to do programming.

“I joined robotics for the programming aspect of it. I’ve always been into programming and that’s why I joined. To do more of that, Crosby said.” “I think it’s fun so far. I like all the teamwork that is involved with it and all the talking and stuff.”

Students who are interested in being part of the robotics team should know about its time commitment.

“I would say be ready to work and be ready to have some fun. Its a lot of work and commitment. But at the same time it has amazing benefits,” Woodley said.