We Are BFA!
The BFA Robotics team works from October until the NE regional championship in March with hopes of making it to the world championships held every April. There are more than 600,000 students competing worldwide in which teams are responsible for designing, building, and programming their robots to compete in an alliance format against other teams. The competition changes every year adding elements the robot must perform in order to score the maximum amount of points. Teams, including coaches, mentors and volunteers, are required to develop strategy and build robots based on sound engineering principles. Awards are given for the competition as well as for community outreach,
Design/ Innovation as well as a number of other awards.
Mission
The mission of FIRST is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in exciting Mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership.
Vision
"To transform our culture by creating a world where science and technology are celebrated and where young people dream of becoming science and technology leaders." Dean Kamen, Founder
Goals for students to learn during the process:
Practicing gracious professionalism
Design, build, and program robots
Apply real-world math and science concepts
Develop problem-solving, organizational, and team-building skills
Compete and cooperate in alliances and tournaments
Compete for a spot in the World Championship
Qualify for over $30 million in college scholarships of which we have had three students receive grants totaling nearly $100,000 worth of scholarship money for being part of the the team.
Project Objectives
Students will design the robot to accomplish the specific task that is set by the First Technical Challenge team. Each game has several elements that can be completed in order to score points. Accomplishing this will be measurable in terms of team members learning and applying what they have learned in order to complete any specific task in the competition. There are three parts to the game. The autonomous, driver controlled and end game. The team can pick what they want the robot to do at any particular time. There are options where they can choose an easier task over a more complicated one if they deem that one to be achievable. Being realistic is a very important during the design, building and competing at the event. For the team members to understand what they have to the potential to accomplish with what they know, what they have and what they have the ability to learn in the given amount of time. What we want our team members to know and be able to do becomes very clear as the season progresses. There is nothing that is prescribed to each individual, each one is expected to self select, programming, design, chassis construction, power-plant, wiring management, marketing, game management, Engineering notebook throughout the entire build season. Within each of these they are encouraged to be open, thoughtful, listen and learn, as many of this teams lessons in each area are taught through mentorship, from older members on the team. Looking ahead and working to plan next steps, plan for problems and possible solutions in order to meet the task at hand is a true life lesson.
Awards: Team members have received many scholarships over the past 8 years to colleges and universities such as Syracuse, RIT, WPI, Clarkson and others totaling nearly $300,000 and the 2021-2022 Season Innovation Award.
2022-2023 Team Members
Isaiah Ludlam
Ben Briggs
Sean Hohmann
Michael Johnson III
Jacob Kittell
Ian Mackenzie
William Massey
Colby Page
Michael Vos
Sophia Williams
Click here for all of the recent Mercury articles: https://bfamercury.org/
Individually, Junior Violet Lewellen finished 5th in the girl's Rail Jam competition. Senior Kaydence Bocash finished 4th in the Giant Slalom race. Freshman Natalie Powers finished 6th and Kaydence Bocash finished 10th in the Slopestyle competition.
Dear Bobwhites/Comets,
As I reflect upon the journey we’ve taken over the last four months or so, I would be remiss if I didn’t address everyone who was a part of it. First, the players that worked so hard throughout the entire season. It has been a privilege to be in a position to teach, learn, and work relentlessly with all of you for however long I’ve had the opportunity. For most of you, I’ve been fortunate enough to be involved in your basketball journey since 5th or 6th grade. Despite all the frustrating moments, the days we dread the grind, and the nonstop commitment we’ve chosen, you guys are the reason myself and the coaching staff keep coming back for more. I am forever grateful to have been with this group, especially with you seniors, most of which I’ve coached at the high school level for four straight years. This team with the help of last years team as well (Thomas Demar, Connor Leach, Charlie Yates, Justin Brown, Tanner Smith, Dakota Wry, and Damon Tipton), has truly put BFA boys basketball back on the map. Despite not accomplishing our ultimate goal, I will never forget the memories and accomplishments made this year. Hold your heads high, as I again will tell you that this is only the beginning of the great things you can and will accomplish. Those of you who remain in the program (returning varsity players, JV A players, and JV B players), understand that our work has only begun, and know the bar has now been set high by the ’21-’22 and ’22-23 Bobwhites. We could not be more excited to tackle the challenges that lie ahead.
While our team and staff are the ones participating against newly made rival schools in an extremely competitive league, it would all be for nothing if not for the incredible BFA community. I cannot put into words what it means to have received the amount of support we did from our very first game, all the way until the end. Coaches that lost to us in the playoffs spoke of how it was the best basketball environment they’ve ever been a part of. Referees last night claimed they’ve never heard a fan section cheer so loudly in a semi-final game at Patrick Gymnasium. I’ve seen faces I never thought would step back into our gym. I’ve received messages of support from people I haven’t talked to in years. I see teachers, alumni (with no players on the team), former coaches, and future Bobwhites/Comets in the stands every game, whether we’re home or away. You have all made this season so special for us and we cannot thank you enough. I would also like to give a special shoutout to our local media coverage teams, Northwest Access TV, The St Albans Messenger, The County Courier, and our team photographer Kim Earl for helping us to capture and share all the moments from this year.
To the families of our basketball team, I simply want to express my gratitude for all that you’ve done. Everything from helping organize/prepare team dinners to taking on all of the senior night planning so that I could focus on coaching. Your presence in the stands and behind the scenes over the past years has been nothing shy of amazing, and we are so fortunate to have you all. If any of you ever need anything, I implore you to ask without hesitation as you are all family and that doesn’t change when someone graduates.
We’ve only just begun, and we remain in pursuit of a state championship. With that being said, the legitimacy of the Bobwhite Basketball program has been established. Although the first team to achieve that goal wasn’t the 2022-2023 Bobwhites, one thing is for certain… they will forever have our admiration and appreciation, and certainly will not be forgotten.
Tristan Menard
Head Coach, BFA St Albans Basketball
No. 2 Comets hosted the No. 3 combined Colchester and Burlington High School SeaLakers in the D1 girls' hockey semifinal on Saturday, Mar. 4th. The SeaLakers who secured the trip to Gutterson notched the game's only goal.
On Wednesday, March 15th, DURING ENRICHMENT BFA and NCTC will be hosting a career connections presentation with Vermont Gas Systems. During the presentation representatives from the company will discuss job types in the organization, typical responsibilities of the different job types, and what makes a good job candidate/employee. They will also cover what kind of opportunities are available for high school students, recent graduates, as well as individuals who have a college degree. This event will be held live from room B120a. Email or speak to Mr. Mahabir (lmahabir@maplerun.org) or Mr. Thayer (rthayer@maplerun.org) if you have any questions.
