T-Wolves find inspiration; Whittier fields two teams

By Tony Pennington

Transcript Staff Writer

The Norman North High School botball team has been distracted.

In the past, the Timberwolves splintered and chased other robotic pursuits like the OK Best competition. This left last year's team with four core members and lacking in direction.

In contrast, Norman High School was anything but fractured. The Tigers pounced and dominated the local botball scene by stringing together back-to-back national championships.

But this is a new year. The pack has reformed and found inspiration and wisdom from a former mentor. And for the first time in a long time, they have found strength in numbers.

"We are more organized this year," said sophomore Zac Jennings, 16, of North's re-dedication to the sport of botball. In previous years, NNHS has had many disappointments and even faced a year without a botball team. "Now we have a larger and stronger team."

Norman North has watched Norman High build and program title-winning robots for two years. It wasn't that NNHS didn't have botball talent or students. Several of the current team gained robot experience as young botballers at Whittier Middle School. For some reason it didn't carry over to high school.

Team veterans said the team didn't communicate, and it seemed like work and got less enjoyable. They had to turn things around. And to do that, NNHS remembered how Whittier teacher and botball sponsor Charlie Bevers prepared them.

"Mr. Bevers always had a lot of team building stuff," said Kyle Ferguson, 14, freshman. "We got organized and assigned different tasks for different groups. That way we don't have people trying to do random things."

The culture change worked.

The North team became relaxed and focused on having fun and staying organized. Many Whittier alumni soon found themselves back in the workshop trying to figure out how to make robots complete several tasks on a competition field the size of a pingpong table. With more than 13 members, their ranks are swollen with talent.

"I think it's going to be a lot of fun this year," said ex-Whittier team member Robbie Terrell, 15, freshman.

While NNHS is finding its feet again, Whittier has plans to continue to build on past successes. According to Bevers, Whittier has been a consistent top 10 to 15 team each year.

"It's really neat when you are whipping up on those high school kids," Bevers said as botball does not have grade level distinctions. He also said the Norman High team has shown his students what is possible and given them a positive example to follow.

"When someone else does well, they see it and want to emulate it," he said. "It helps them out a lot that it's someone local."

Whittier may want to imitate Norman High's feats, but they won't abandon their trademark of creating consistent, simple and sturdy robots.

"We try to find one or two things and then do them to perfection," said Bevers, a five-year botball sponsor. Whittier won the Keep It Simple Stupid award for their point scoring machine last year.

In a twist this year, the middle school will feature two teams including an all-girls squad that Bevers will oversee.

Eighth grade team leader Tori Crandall, 13, is in her second year of botball and prefers the all-girl setting and the challenge to build robots.

"Sometimes boys can be a little dominating," she explained. "They take your jobs and tease you. Girls are easier to work and communicate with."

The split between the genders also allows Whittier to have smaller botball learning communities. Seventh-grader Liz Hodgson, 12, said it makes it easier to learn the programming and building.

"You get to think," she said. "You get to participate a lot more, and you get to do more things."

The team will have an opportunity in March to see if girl power will be enough to outduel Norman High.

"Oh yeah, I want to beat (Norman High)," Crandall said. "I'm very competitive."

NNHS also will enter the regional tournament in Oklahoma City, but they don't want to turn the contest into another Crosstown Clash.

"I don't think about it," said freshman Nick Napoli, 15, of facing Norman High. "Our goal is not to beat Norman High. It's to do well and build the best robots we can."

That's the attitude second-year sponsor Kevin Warren likes to hear out of his young team. He said the freshmen from Whittier have energized the squad and added the necessary numbers that led to organization and a wealth of ideas.

"I don't care if we beat Norman High," he said. "It's just as exciting to see something work because they had to come together as a team. It means they worked well as a team and something came out right."

Tony Pennington 366-3541 schools@normantranscript.com