After over a decade, FRC Team 698,the Microbots, from Hamilton High School ranked six out of the 35 teams competing, placing them in the top 10 at the AZ Valley Regional Competition on March 19, 2022. 

Krish Narotam, the president of the team had many great things to say about the season. He wanted to be the president of the team because he saw the potential it had and wanted to bring the team back to life. After seeing the team double in size over the past year, he ensured that the new members were able to see the value in the team by teaching them new things like technical skills. A way that he is working to make this team more than just a club is by making the kids want to work harder and not just seeing it as another thing for  college apps.

Narotam says that one of the biggest accomplishments of the team this year “was making it to the quarter finals with having only one mentor.” He says that it was amazing, because the students on the team did 100 percent of the work and they were able to see that on the field, making them feel even more proud of themselves. When they came into this season, Narotam feared that the students would not stay committed throughout the season, but to his surprise, the exact opposite took place. With over 20 committed and constantly active students, the team was able to “expand what we wanted to do with our new resources.” 

He says that it was “a well deserved success,” as the students put a bunch of time into their robot this season and with the majority of the team being novices, their enthusiasm for their success was even more. His plan to keep the team this successful is to “teach them to build a culture that basically feeds people themselves.” With this goal, their team will always be this active, giving them more opportunities for greater success. He also has hopes to start a leadership training program on the team so that the leaders of the team can “develop an ability to coach rather than simply lead.” 

The Hamilton Microbots have a lot in store for them, and this comeback was most certainly a step in the right direction.