Sunday, April 1, 2012

A Country Girl, A High-Tech Team

This week, our Bailey will leave us for the bright lights of the big city- Las Vegas.  On Thursday, the CRUSH robotics team will head out for the Las Vegas regional competition with their robot for this year, Yoshime.  I will worry the whole time- that's what Mamas do- and hopefully get to watch them on the UStream video online from the competition.

Funny thing about this, parents volunteer and support the kids, but this competition is all about what the kids do- what the team can pull together as a team.  What they build, create, fix and follow through on their own, with the watchful safety eye of mentors.  In a world where the parents scream on the sidelines, and compete to live out there dreams through their kids, belittle the competition and forget about the youth learning and having fun, this is youth driven, youth led, and all about fun while working hard.

The sportsmanship and accountability are phenomenal.  When Bailey called home from the last regional in Phoenix, she was excited, happy, saying they had won some and lost some, but that their friends on Plasma were doing great, and worried about a team from another Tucson high school whose robot had not passed inspection to take the floor.  Some of the CRUSH kids had tried to help, but they all wanted the kids to all be able to compete.  They felt so bad that kids could have come through the whole year, travelled all the way to competition, and have to sit and watch.  CRUSH brought home the spirit award, as well as the website award.  And they are so excited for their friends winning in other regionals.

Where else can some little girl with a yard full of goats, dogs and chickens ride her early skills as a welder and machine operator into real skills as a tig welder, machinist, programmer and team leader?  Knowing that she had welding experience led a friend of Bailey's from the drama productions of the year before, one who was this year a senior and a team leader, to suggest extending the freshman invitation for the year to her.  One of Bailey's friends had even stepped in to watch little Wyatt the day it happened, wanting ot make sure Bailey would not miss out while waiting for me to get there for work.  These are the experiences that life is made of.

Many of you have seen my role in this.  Parents provide dinners twice or so during the build season, and I made robot cookies for a big presentation.  And I drive a lot.  And I walk with her in the dark, so she can still work her livestock when she has a late night at school during build season.  Oh, and I think I need to find some blue socks to match the orange ones here, so she can combine them for this longer trip.
Who cares if they win?  Oh, you know we will be rooting them on and cheering like crazy from here.  If it hadn't been so long and so far away, we likely would have gone to scream from the stands.  But in having built this team from the beginning of the year, worked tirelessly and laughed through their video blogs and mishaps, they have already won in the biggest trial of all.  You go, kids.  I am so proud of you all.

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