Boosting STEM Skills: MSJ's FTC Challenge Team Goals

FIRST® Tech Challenge, or FTC, is one of many clubs here at MSJ. FTC is an engineering competition in which students compete against other schools, with a new competition challenge each year. Students are able to develop STEM skills, like building robots, coding, writing (engineering notebook, notes, pictures), teamwork, and leadership. At MSJ, we have two FTC teams, Ryken Robotics and Gaelstrom, which work together to compete at competitions.

Our FTC club here at MSJ has been competing in various competitions for many years now and has achieved several high placements and awards. Though in recent years, the quality of our work and placements at competitions has not been as good, and is in need of major improvement. I recently had the opportunity to interview senior leaders and the new coach and teacher lead for the club, Mr. Rixham, to gather their thoughts on FTC’s current state and the upcoming events this year.

Students working on a robot for the FIRST Tech Challenge, collaborating and building components at a table.

I had the opportunity to discuss some of our new ideas with Aaron Pinto, the club leader, and Kiran Fracchia, a senior leader for Gaelstrom. We are hoping to introduce these ideas this year and are planning to improve upon last year’s efforts. This year, Kiran and Aaron had a variety of goals they wanted to achieve. Kiran Fracchia stated, “Our main goals are to get a functional team… ensure organization and cooperation and accountability with each member.” Aaron also added, discussing the club’s sustainability and longevity, saying, “We’re going to make sure that we can help build up the freshmen and the underclassmen so that we have a strong foundation for next year and future years after we as seniors leave.” Aaron also brought up their main goal for the club this year, adding, “We are going to try our hardest to create a good robot and score a solid position in the competition at the end of the season.”

FTC has set many goals to accomplish this year, but they will face numerous challenges. Kiran brought up the importance of team communication, accountability, and determination, stating, “I think our biggest thing is our team has a lot of younger, less experienced students, and we need to work with them and make sure they stay accountable.” Aaron described the challenge as “a bit tougher than ones we have encountered in previous years,” and also noted that the claw design of the robot they aim to create this year would be difficult to make.

A group of students working on assembling a robotics project, with visible components such as wheels, motors, and an expansion hub on a wooden table.

Finally, we were able to discuss MSJ as a whole, including the idea of whether FTC’s performance could influence the MSJ community. Kiran underlined the fact that if our placement in competitions is good, it could “inspire a lot more people to join the club, both in the school and outside of the school, for new students or younger kids who might be aspiring to come to MSJ.” Kiran hopes that in the future, the FTC will expand its popularity and population, allowing the club to thrive for many years to come.

I also had the chance to talk to Curtis Phillips and Mr. Rixham. Curtis, a sophomore on the Gaelstrom FTC team, shared his thoughts on the club when I asked him a few questions. This is his second year at the FTC club, but he has many aspirations that he would like to do while at the FTC club: “I hope to at least go to states (competition), learn how to code, and I want to develop a better friendship with the people I know here.” We also discussed his future plans after high school and how the club could support him. Curtis stated, “I’m planning to become a game developer when I grow up, so learning how to code will be a big help. It also gives good team-building skills.”

A partially assembled robot on a workbench, featuring electrical components and wheels, with a person's hand reaching toward it.

Mr. Rixham is the new teacher lead/coach for the FTC club, and will be in charge for the foreseeable future. Mr. Rixham is new to the club, but has stated that he could use his experience and knowledge to help the members, “Experience that I bring is solely regulated to the build process. I have a decent eye towards pointing out suggestions in design towards positive results.” Mr. Rixham also explains that his main goal for the club this year is to be “able to understand the full expectations that come with being a coach.”

Overall, the FTC club has several goals it would like to achieve this year, but accomplishing them will require time and hard work. Hopefully, the FTC club will succeed in this year’s competitions and continue to thrive in the future.

Jack Butler is a senior member of the Multimedia Journalism class.