Shorewood's Team Pronto Robots - the end of a season

By Wes Proudlove, Team Advisor

Shorewood's own Team Pronto Robots has come to an end of another season. We have had our ups and downs but though it all we have learned valuable lessons. "No idea is too small," "team work will always best individual effort," "if you have fun in what you are doing it's no longer work," "what you learn in robotics relates to everything in life," and most importantly - "math and science can be fun if you just add a robot into the formulas."

Spokane was our last shot this year to make it to the World Championships. Hank (our robot) played hard and had some great triumphs but when the teams were chosen we did not come out on top.

Team Pronto in Spokane - students, advisors, mentors, teachers
Photo by Veronica Cook

Team Pronto took time during the event to go help other teams program robots, help with construction problems and show a rookie team how all the endless piles of paperwork can be gotten though without much hair loss (I lost my hair before Team Pronto).

Hank #3070 must share the teeter board and balance in place
Photo by Veronica Cook

Hank balanced multiple times on the teeter totter under the capable hands of Austin Buchanan. Austin even got Hank to balance while resting on top of another robot - that's some crazy skills. Human full field baskets were made by Max Hundhausen, AJ Harpring and Nick Teeters, not a easy shot at all to make. Of the 16 members of Team Pronto at the event, 12 got to take the field at one time or another in front of thousands of screaming fans.

Katy Kuznetsova won Safety Star of the Day
Photo by Veronica Cook

Once again Team Pronto's own Katy Kuznetsova won Safety Star of the Day on Friday. This is an award only given to one team per day at the events. Katy is now a 3 time winner and has hopes of winning it all, come next year's events.

As head mentor and head advisor, I would like to give my thanks to the students for filling my life with so much excitement, entertainment, and thoughts of what the future holds.

It takes a team to tune a robot
Photo by Veronica Cook

A special thanks must must must be given to the other two Shorewood teachers who accompanied us on our trip to Spokane. Veronica Cook: for always setting the students on the right path, sometimes with soft spoken, kind words; other times a much harder nudge. Veronica was also the official team photo journalist taking hundreds of pictures of our students, Hank and mentors. Thanks to Tammy Ceesay for all the smiles, laughs, kind words and compassion for the students and their well being. 

Advisor Wes Proudlove and team members watching the competition
Photo by Veronica Cook

Sorry, Tammy, that you had to put up with the students' feet on the trip over. It smelled like skunks and we will have to cure that for next year. It was such a pleasure to have you two along, it really made my time much more enjoyable. Tammy and Veronica, you have been now indoctrinated as Team Pronto members. There is no going back. You're like a zombie but much happier with fewer body parts falling off.

A special thanks to mentors Daryl Mondor, Eric Holton, Lee White, Patrick Chiang, and Feng Gao who all traveled and stayed at their own expense to help out our students and be a part of the craziness.

Next year is fast approaching and who knows - you too could become a Team Pronto addict like us. There is no cure for the robotic fever. Skunk smell can't even keep us away.