The Hamilton Cyberhawks robotics team put on an impressive performance at the West Michigan Invitational on October 26, hosted at Zeeland East High School. The off-season competition gave the Cyberhawks an invaluable opportunity to prepare for the upcoming season starting in January, and the team took full advantage. With an influx of new talent ready to fill the roles left by last year’s graduating seniors, the Cyberhawks are setting their sights on making it to the state championship.
For sophomore Elijah Young, this competition was a chance to gain critical experience in coding and operations. “Today is more of a ‘figure it out day’ so we can get more driver, more human players, and more experience in doing the game,” he explained. His excitement for robotics stems from a passion for coding and the challenges that come with learning new programming languages. This focus on skill development is a key component for the Cyberhawks as they prepare for January’s rigorous build season.
The team’s senior members, including Kasey Thomas, see the off-season event as a valuable time for newer team members to learn the ropes in the pit and behind the controls. “Right now we are in an off-season competition and it is a shortened version of an actual competition, so we can get people who haven’t had a lot of experience in the pits or driving get time under the controller and running the matches,” Kasey shared. He added that the real season brings its own unique intensity: “The game will be introduced early in the year, we have a really intentionally short timeframe to build a bot and put it together. It’s a blast to do it; it’s very hard and takes a lot of time and effort.”
Senior Emily Bittner is looking forward to the season’s challenges with confidence and enthusiasm. “I am really excited,” she said. “I can’t wait for the problems that will come because I know it will help us grow as a team. It’s a lot of fun, I just need to prepare myself for the challenges that will come as well.”
With a mix of seasoned members and newer students ready to step up, the Cyberhawks are optimistic about their potential to make it to states. “The Cyberhawks team had a lot of seniors leave last year,” Kasey said, “and that group was very beneficial to this team. They really got it up and off the ground from where it was. We would not be where we are today without them. This year will be a lot of filling in big shoes, but I think we have plenty of people who can do several different things. I think we’ll do great this year too.”
Emily echoed Kasey’s optimism, adding, “I think we’re actually applying ourselves, and we have a shot at making states this year, I think.”
As the January season approaches, the Cyberhawks are not only focused on refining their skills but also on building a team that can overcome obstacles, adapt under pressure, and make Hamilton proud in the highly competitive world of robotics.
