Rookie Season 2025–2026
CALculated Risk
FIRST Tech Challenge Team #30628
Christian Academy of Louisville
FIRST Tech Challenge Team #30628
Christian Academy of Louisville
We are a FIRST Tech Challenge robotics team representing Christian Academy of Louisville. Our team name combines our school nickname, CAL, and the risks involved with robot engineering!
Founded by six students in Spring 2025, our common interests in STEM and curiosity about robotics as a competitive sport motivated us to get involved in FTC.
Highlights of our rookie season include the thrill of seeing our robot run for the first time, the excitement of competing in our first robot match, and working together to create something remarkable for our team and our school.
From our first build to the Kentucky State Championship — here's how our rookie year unfolded.
After our team organized in the spring, we spent weeks getting familiar with FTC technologies. We learned to build a Strafer Chassis and a servo-activated claw, practiced simple block programming, and drove our first robot.
We received mentoring from the captain and coach of FTC team All Systems Go (Kentucky State Champions) and an FTC alumnus who is an engineering student at Purdue University.
Learn how to code from having no experience
Construct a working robot for a competitive arena
Build a super fast intake system
Code an autonomous routine to move the drivetrain
Build an intake system, chassis, and program it
Use CAD and build custom pieces for our robot
We used the engineering design process to achieve our robot design goals. As a rookie team, we went through three iterations and chose a linear robot design to optimize for arc angles, intake, and speed.
After the regular season ended, we continued working on a revised robot to perform better at the Premier event.
We won the Sustain Award at the Kentucky State Championship — recognizing our team's plan for recruitment, fundraising, and long-term growth as a rookie FTC program.
Team #30628 — Engineering Portfolio 2025 | 2026
Motor-mounted flywheel launches balls using a pinch-like force. A hood alters the outtake angle for different shooting positions.
Servo-mounted gate is a failsafe to prevent premature ball release, 3D-printed for precision.
Two belted motors drive Gecko wheels and surgical tubing to transfer balls from intake to flywheel. Stores three balls for maximum scoring.
Three Gecko wheels with surgical tubing powered by a belted motor intake balls quickly and efficiently.
GoBilda 4-bar pods paired with a Pinpoint IMU provide reliability during autonomous routines and hood positioning.
Mecanum wheels powered by 4× 435 RPM motors allow omnidirectional movement for easy field positioning.
We added GoBilda 4-bar Odometry Pods and a Pinpoint computer after our first league meet. Odometry was a game changer — making our autonomous routines more effective and accurate.
When parking and shooting, going fast was hurting us. We created a slow mode activated by a controller button, allowing more precise movement during critical moments.
Our custom program uses PID + feed-forward to maintain flywheel velocity. Two preset speeds let us shoot from almost anywhere on the field at the press of a button.
As a new team, we modeled our controller after video games to make the learning curve less steep. Even guest drivers picked it up easily.
We teamed up with All Systems Go to present a STEM workshop to 46 second graders, teaching how gears transfer power into motion through hands-on activity stations.
We staffed a booth at our school's open house, sharing our team and FIRST with over 50 people.
We hosted a meeting for middle school students to introduce them to FTC and let them drive our robot — building the next generation of CAL robotics.
We met in person to learn from his experience, discussed his career path, and learned how his chemical engineering degree opened doors to many different positions.
Runs the engineering program at Christian Academy and supports our robotics team with design reviews and mentorship.
We relied on community support and FTC grants to fund our rookie season. We are grateful to our sponsors:
As a rookie team, every dollar helps us grow. Your donation funds robot parts, tools, competition fees, and outreach programs that inspire the next generation of engineers.
Running a competitive FIRST Tech Challenge team requires significant investment. Here's a breakdown of our annual budget:
| Expense Category | Description | Estimated Cost |
|---|---|---|
| FIRST Registration | Annual team registration with FIRST | $275 |
| League & Event Fees | League meets, qualifiers, and state championship entry | $400 – $800 |
| Robot Parts & Components | Motors, sensors, goBilda parts, wheels, electronics, and build materials | $2,500 – $4,000 |
| Tools & Workshop Supplies | Hand tools, soldering equipment, fasteners, and shop consumables | $500 – $1,000 |
| 3D Printing & Custom Parts | Filament, CAD-designed wheel guards, gates, and custom brackets | $200 – $400 |
| Competition Travel | Transportation, meals, and lodging for away events | $500 – $1,500 |
| Team Apparel | Competition shirts, pit display materials, and team branding | $300 – $500 |
| Outreach & Recruitment | Workshop materials, display boards, and demo field supplies | $200 – $400 |
| Estimated Annual Total | $4,875 – $8,875 | |
Your donation directly funds the purchase of robot parts, tools, and supplies that help six students learn engineering, programming, and teamwork. Thank you for considering a donation to CALculated Risk!
Contact Us to Sponsorbheishman@caschools.us