Don’t Call It a Comeback
I’m sitting here watching my daughter Emily’s high school team compete in a VEX Robotics competition, and it takes me back a few years to another season — one that started in absolute disaster and ended on one of the biggest stages in the world: the VEX World Championship in Dallas, Texas.
From dead last to the world stage — this is the story of how my daughter’s VEX Robotics team rebuilt their robot, their confidence, and their place in the competition. A journey of grit, gears, and growth.
Before diving into the story, a little context helps.
What VEX Robotics Competitions Are All About
Each VEX Robotics (Home - VEX Robotics) match is a fast-paced blend of engineering, strategy, and teamwork. Student-built robots — which must fit inside an 18-inch cube — compete on a 12' x 12' field to complete game-specific tasks.
Match Structure
Two alliances (red and blue), each with two teams.
15-second Autonomous Period: robots run pre-programmed routines.
1:45 Driver-Controlled Period: students take the controls.
Game Objectives
Each season introduces a new challenge. Robots earn points by:
Scoring objects into goals or zones
Controlling field elements
Parking or elevating at the end
Winning the autonomous bonus
Team Roles
Drivers, programmers, builders, notebookers, scouts — everyone has a job, and success depends on design, precision, and strategy.
Tournaments
Teams play qualifying matches with random partners, then line up by rank to choose alliances for a single-elimination bracket. Judged awards also qualify teams for higher events like state and worlds.
Absolute Last Place… It’s a Start
This was Emily’s second year in VEX, but the teams were newly formed. Their first competition? A disaster. Out of roughly sixty teams, they finished dead last. Batteries fell off. Batteries weren’t charged. Nothing went right. When alliance selection came, they were at the back of the line — and unsurprisingly, no one picked them.
Back to the Drawing Board
Emily’s junior high had four teams that year. I volunteered once a week to help supervise, giving the coach a break, which gave me a front-row seat to the chaos, creativity, and teenage tendency to leave everything on the floor.
The other three teams made elimination rounds. Emily’s did not.
Emily was one of the main builders, and after that rough start, she and her team tore down their robot and rebuilt it — especially the catapult that launched balls across the field. At their next competition, the new catapult was one of the strongest there. They still had blunders, but they climbed into the mid‑30s. Not great, but progress.
And their skills scores kept improving.
“Once a Loser, Always a Loser” — Or So They Were Treated
Despite improving, the other teams at the school still treated Emily’s team like the last-place group from the first event. Even the teacher/coach seemed to prioritize the other teams. Emily’s team complained of not getting parts that they said others received easily. It’s possible that they didn’t ask the right question.
I probably should have said something, but Emily implored me not to say anything. And honestly, learning to advocate for yourself is part of the experience. So, I stayed quiet and encouraged her to speak up.
State Competition
At one of their final regular-season events, Emily’s team won a judged award — enough to qualify for the state championship.
States were held in a fairgrounds convention hall that looked like it could host a bull-riding event. Nearly 100 teams competed.
Emily’s team came out strong. Their skills score put them in the top ten. They kept winning matches. After three rounds, the live rankings showed them in first place. I couldn’t believe it. I was on pins and needles for the entire competition. Is it possible the parent is more nervous than the kid playing the event?
By the end of qualifications, they were sitting in third.
From last place to third at states — incredible.
During alliance selection, Emily got to choose their partner. The team wanted a specific robot type, so they picked a lower-ranked team than I would have chosen. But it was their journey, not mine.
They won their first elimination match. In the quarterfinals, their partner failed the endgame challenge, costing them the match by fewer points than the endgame was worth.
A brutal way to lose.
Low → High → Low → High
We came in with low expectations. Then they finished third in qualifications. Then they were knocked out early. I was thrilled for them and crushed for them at the same time.
Another team from their school ended up winning the whole event. I was happy for them — but sad for Emily.
Minutes later, everything changed.
Emily’s team was announced as the winner of an award that qualified them for worlds. They jumped out of their seats. I’ll never forget that moment.
Time for a Redesign?!
Naturally, after qualifying for worlds with a strong robot, the team decided to tear it down and redesign everything. Not my advice — but apparently the universal instinct of every Vex robotics team… no matter the school.
Six weeks flew by. Then it was time to fly to Dallas. Meanwhile, my son Matthew was “tracking my dot” the entire trip, monitoring my flights and hotel route through Find My Phone.
Worlds!!
Worlds is massive — five divisions, about 90 teams each. Ten qualifying matches per team. Winners of each division meet in “the dome.”
Emily’s team won their first match. They looked nothing like the team that finished last months earlier. They looked like a top‑15 team in their division.
By the end of day one, they were 5–0.
Day two started strong… until a technicality disqualified them. Their robot was battling another robot at the end of a match. The other robot had a zip tie that touched the high bar. You are not allowed to interfere with another robot while they're trying to elevate. Technically interference. Realistically? The other robot wasn’t even trying to elevate. But rules are rules.
That loss triggered a slide. They finished qualifications 7–3, still in the top third, but not high enough to choose their alliance. They were picked by a higher-ranked team but lost their first elimination match.
Even so — what a run.
As an aside, one sad thing that surprised me was the amount of homelessness in that city. There had to be 1000’s of people sleeping on the streets on my walk to the convention center from the hotel. I do recall someone in a pickup truck with boxes of food. He was giving it to all that came. I love it when there are good people in this world.
Lessons Learned
Emily’s team learned engineering, strategy, and resilience. Emily built one of the best catapults in the competition before the team switched to a less effective spinner — then switched back. She gained experience, confidence, and grit.
I’m writing this two years later as I watch her compete with a new high school team. Her eighth‑grade team had success on the field but toxic dynamics off the field.
Her current team? Supportive, collaborative, and kind. Their collaboration has led them to win four different judges awards in the last five competitions, including a signature competition!!
Sometimes you need to experience how bad something can be to appreciate when you finally have something good.
