Prior to qualifying for the World Championship competition, the Destrehan High School Robotics team turned on the film and broke it down. Then some harsh truths were laid out.
“We watched the footage of every match … the last six matches of (the Bayou) regional” said DHS robotics coach Brian Young. “We broke down every second … why did we do this here, what were we thinking about in this spot … we broke it down and we were brutally honest.
“We saw a few things and fixed a few more. There were some embarrassing moments, but it’s how you get better.”
That pain led to considerable gain. Destrehan, coming off of an already strong performance at the Bayou regional, boosted its scoring by approximately 30 percent when matched up with some of the best teams in the world in Houston at the World Championship Tournament. The team ultimately finished as a semifinalist in the Isaac Newton Division of the World Championship. Overall, the World field was comprised of nearly 80 teams from 10 different countries.
“I thought our team knocked it out of the park,” Young said. “We did better than we even thought we possibly could do … our team was up there with the best in the world.”
Destrehan’s high competitive rank also came with other honors. DHS became only the ninth school ever to win the team spirit award three times – for efforts during regional and world championship events. That award is bestowed on teams that show their spirit not just during competition, but within their school and in their community. STEM outreach efforts are also recognized during the judging.
Of course, back on the competitive field: the DHS students built a monster.
“This was the best competitive robot our team has ever built,” Young said.
Even so, it didn’t absolutely fulfill its potential until the World Championship tournament.
“The robot didn’t change at all. Our approach to the game did,” Young said. “We played a game that would fit our robot better. Our robot was unbelievable at getting game pieces off the floor very quickly. We played to that more than we did in the past.”
There was less guessing because the Wildcats had a well-formulated plan.
“The endgame was something that wasn’t as big a deal to us, wasn’t as difficult as it had been,” Young said. “You could see before a slight difference between the really, really good robots and ours at the end of the game before, but this time we were putting up points as well as anyone in the world.”
Others noticed. Team advisors for some of the top teams in the country gave Destrehan strong positive feedback, including the now reigning world champion MadTown of California.
“They called me and said we were an outstanding team,” Young said.
It’s the kind of success Young truly wanted for his team, in particular a group of 10 seniors who had seen their experience compromised in past years due to COVID-19 and Hurricane Ida.
“The goal was to get to the World Championship for those seniors. They had to deal with all of that. Last year we had a delayed start to the season. This year, we had the full season – none of that stuff to deal with.”
Destrehan robotics posted one of the very best seasons in school history, but the program was no stranger to the world stage with several visits in years past. A strong tradition is taking hold.
That, Young said, largely comes down to the dedication of his students, who make the commitment each year to push to be their very best.
“We spend 37 to 40 hours per week, for four months, during the season,” Young said. “We train during the summer, and we train during August to January with no breaks. Even in the offseason, we meet a couple of times a week.”
One thing Young is especially proud of – and wants people to understand – is his students are 100 percent responsible for the robots and their success.
“I do not build a robot. There are a lot of teams where the adults are heavily involved with the build,” Young said. “I guide them, we talk about this or that design being the way to go. We study other teams. But it’s the kids. It’s my students, and what I’m so proud of is – my students build these robots.”
Young also gave a nod to the team’s sponsors for making the squad’s success possible.
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