History
2002-2005
Team 971 was founded in 2002 by a group of interested Seniors who approached the science and technology teacher. This group lead the team for two years, until the Tech Teacher decided that he did not have enough time and the founding members graduated. In 2004, the team was taken over by the AP Physics teacher and a Junior who was a freshman on the original team along with an enthusiastic group of rookie students. This group led the team to a regional victory at the 2004 Silicon Valley Regional, a trip to the 2004 Nationals, and a strong showing at the 2005 Silicon Valley Regional.
2006
The next year, the Physics teacher decided because of his move, he would not have enough time for the team, so the slack was picked up by a dedicated math teacher and a strong student leadership. In 2006, the team tried an ambitious strategy that resulted in a lot of learning, but did not work as well as expected. None the less, the team still decided to go to Championships. That year, the team also connected with Berger Manufacturing, which allowed them to manufacture an intricate hopper design.
2007
In 2007, with Berger Manufacturing, PF Development and a Solidworks seat, the team was able to try new ideas. With a combination of Berger’s sheet metal abilities, and PF Development’s machining abilities, the team was able to create an intricate robot design that wokred pretty well during the competition.
2008
In 2008, most of the previous year’s team, which consisted of seniors, had graduated. The remaining members of the team successfully recruited many freshmen and sophmores to be a part of this amazing experience. All of the new team members were shown all aspects of the competition and what jobs had to be filled. After each team member selected the field that they were interested in, the more experience members trained the newcomers in everything related to that field so that they would be ready with knowledge to build the robot. With a team of exicted rookies, the team went all the way to the quarterfinals at the 2008 Silicon Valley Regional.