More Than Robots: My Journey as Captain in FLL “UNEARTHED”
This season, I had the immense responsibility and privilege of leading my team as Captain in the FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL) UNEARTHED™ challenge. This year’s theme, inspired by archaeology, tasked us with a fascinating mission: uncovering the past to discover the future.
Leading the Dig: The Captain’s Perspective
Being a captain is about more than just coding or building with LEGO® technology; it’s about team-based problem solving and mentorship. In the “UNEARTHED” challenge, we explored how STEM skills—science, technology, engineering, and math—can act as tools to dig deeper into human history and innovation.
As a leader, my focus was on:
- Inspiration: Keeping the team motivated when the robot’s sensors didn’t catch the right “artifact.”
- Collaboration: Bridging the gap between our design ideas and our coding execution.
- Resilience: Learning that every failed attempt is actually a story uncovered.
Beyond the Scoreboard: What We Really Found
While we didn’t walk away with a trophy this year, we uncovered something far more valuable: Experience. In the world of FIRST®, we say “More Than Robots®.” This isn’t just a slogan. It means that the skills we developed—critical thinking, design, and teamwork—are life-changing. We faced real-world problems and navigated them as a unit.
“Failure is not the opposite of success; it is a part of it. We didn’t lose; we learned how to win next time.”
The Road to 2027: We Will Be Back
This season was our “discovery phase.” We’ve analyzed our design flaws, refined our coding logic, and strengthened our team bond. We are already looking ahead to the next season with a clearer vision and a sharper strategy.
We are coming back stronger, smarter, and more determined. The “UNEARTHED” season taught us how to dig; next season, we are going to build something that stands tall.
