Our FRC team 6800 Valor winning the final match of the Texas State Championship

Our FRC TEAM VALOR 6800 debuted in 2018 and won the Rookie All Star Award at the state level. VALOR is now currently ranked in #1 in Texas and was a semifinalist at the 2022 FIRST WORLDS ROBOTICS Competition!

The FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC®) robot game is revealed in early January, our FRC team has a six-week period to build a robot typically around 36" square that can weigh up to 125 pounds. Each match in a competition plays three different high school team's robots against another three different high school team's robots on a field roughly the size of a basketball court. Any team could be your partner in one match and your opponent in another match.

If you are interested in what the rules for a typical robot game for FRC is like, you can see a game reveal here.

Our FRC team 6800 Valor pit crew at the 2022 Worlds Championship

In our FRC program, students work with industry expert mentors in a 4:1 ratio to develop their game strategy and design, build, and program that year's robot. The focus is to teach students the skills they need in a teamwork setting that will translate well in their future workplace.

FRC teams are large, and VALOR was 27 students in 2022 and is expanding to 40 in 2023. This larger team format supports a subteam structure in place modeled largely after the technology production industry.

Our subteams include:

• CAD design

• fabrication

• build crew

• robot drive and operating

• scouting other teams performance,

• alliance partner selection based on scouting data

• marketing and social media

• outreach in the community

FRC has many sub teams because the business of technology production also includes these important sectors. Veteran students are given leadership roles on these sub teams and mentor the rookies.

Our FTC team 7161 HYDRA at the 2018 Relic Recovery AML Championship finals

Our first FTC team debuted in 2010. We now have 10 FTC teams, and many advance to the State level and often to the Worlds level each year. In the 2022 season, three of our FTC team members were recognized at the Worlds level as a Dean's List semifinalist, and one as a finalist - the highest award an individual can achieve in FIRST.

FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC®) is a robotics competition for students in grades 7–12. Each team must design, build, and program a robot up to 18" square to compete in a 2 on 2 robot format on a 12'x12' field. Any team could be your partner in one match and your opponent in another match. FTC teams are smaller than FRC teams, and ours typically have about 10-15 students on each team.

If you are interested in what the rules for a typical robot game for FTC is like, you can see a game reveal here.

4546 Snakebyte works on their robot

In our FTC program, students work with one or two mentors to develop their game strategy and design, build, and program that year's robot. Their design and build is student-driven, and they are encouraged to learn from their mistakes. The focus is using robotics as a means for student development and leadership.

The veteran members are encouraged to mentor the rookie members and are assigned roles similar to a department in a technology company including:

• Project Manager

• Assistant Project Manager

• Sub Team Leads (in various capacities)

These roles are assigned each year dependent on the student's experience level and interests.