Thursday, March 5th, 2020
Coldwater Robots Rule
Robotics team heads for state competition
By William Kincaid
Photo by Dan Melograna/The Daily Standard
Carter Homan, left, and Tanner Muhlenkamp, right, work to fix their robot's arm on Monday night during practice at Coldwater High School. The We Will Bot You Coldwater robotics team is headed to the state championship at Loveland High School March 13-14.
COLDWATER - Coldwater High School's robotics team, We Will Bot You, is once again heading to the state championship, this year at Loveland High School from March 13-14.
Volunteer coaches Jared Ebbing, Rebecca Wenning and Liane Muhlenkamp couldn't be more proud of We Will Bot You, especially since the team will enter the tournament as the top-ranked team in the state.
The team consists of nine members - freshman Cole Seitz; sophomores Laney Finke, Tate Wenning, Caleb Stammen, Austin Ebbing and Tanner Muhlenkamp; and juniors Carter Homan, Matt Waite and Luke Ontrop. It's Mercer County's only First Tech Challenge team.
"It was our first time going to state, and there were a ton of teams there last year. Now that we're the top team in the state, there's a lot on us," Tate Wenning said.
As at previous competitions held over the 2019-2020 First Tech Challenge season, We Will Bot You members must maneuver their robot over a playing field to pick up, move and stack a series of blocks in a designated area.
"The first 30 seconds there's no hands on the robot at all. It's all preprogramed," Jared Ebbing said of the autonomous period. "It basically has to do certain things."
Then, a team member will pick up a remote control to direct and operate the robot.
Team members designed, built and programed the robot, made up of heavy-duty sensors, brackets, motors and metal pieces.
"Since this is our third year, it's not like we have to redo our whole robot. We can use the parts from last year," Tate Wenning pointed out. "We're learning from other teams and what they're doing."
Team members made some adjustments and improvements.
"We actually have quite a bit of sensors on here," Austin Ebbing noted. "We have four sensors, but we also have four other ones that are inside the motors that we use.
Most teams don't employ that many sensors, but Austin Ebbing insists the extra devices help the robot get a better understanding of the world surrounding it.
Many on We Will Bot Youwere in on the ground floor when Coldwater's robotics program launched in 2016 with First LEGO League. Since then, the members and their robots have grown by leaps and bounds.
"There's still some people that say, 'Oh, you still play with LEGOs?' They think it's LEGOs," Jared Ebbing said. "They have no idea what this is. This is a true engineering program."
First Tech isn't just about robot building and programing, Jared Ebbing continued. Most importantly, it teaches the kids how to think critically via hands-on experiences, a skill that isn't necessarily learned in a textbook or marker board.
"A lot of businesses are looking for critical thinkers. They're looking for people who know how to communicate with each other, problem solvers, engineers talking with the machine builder," he said.
And unlike other First Tech Teams, some of which meet daily during the school day and have access to full-time coaches dedicated exclusively to programing or motors, We Will Bot You members convene outside school hours, often late in the evening and on weekends.
"For these kids to come up after school, at night, on a Saturday, whenever, and to compete at that level, tells you about the quality of the kids," Jared Ebbing said.
For this season, they met in late September and early October.
"They wanted to get through fall sports because almost every one of these kids are involved in something else, whether it be band or football or golf or cross country," Jared Ebbing said.
"I'm a three-sport athlete and I'm also in band, but this program has something different about it than any other thing you can be in, the skills that you learn from it," Stammen said.
Team members are responsible for learning the ropes of robotics on their own. The volunteer coaches simply serve to guide and question the students. In fact, Jared Ebbing proudly boasted that the team's coaches are probably the least informed in the league, forcing the kids to learn by trial and error.
The students also get to sharpen their soft skills by working with one another in practice and seeking donations for the program from local businesses.
"(Robotics) is what brings us together, but we're learning the life skills, the public speaking, the teamwork, the videography," Liane Muhlenkamp said.
Finke agreed.
"When I was younger I was really shy. I didn't like to talk to people but after doing this I talk all the time," she said. "I was the M.C. at the Versailles tournament, which is something I never thought I would be."
Finke also helps lead outreach efforts.
"We have a lot of sponsors," she said. "Every year we go out, ask them for money, show them what we do with their money. A lot of them come back without us even having to ask them because they know how well we've been doing."
To follow We Will Bot You, visit its Facebook page called
FIRST Tech Challenge Coldwater High School.
Photo by Dan Melograna/The Daily Standard
Mechanical marvels such as this robot helped send The We Will Bot You Coldwater robotics team is to the state championship at Loveland High School March 13-14.
Photo by Dan Melograna/The Daily Standard
Tate Wenning, left, and Carter Homan, right, work together to drive their robot through the obstacle course. The We Will Bot You Coldwater robotics team is headed to the state championship at Loveland High School March 13-14.
