SHS’s FIRST(For Inspiration and Recognition of Science Technology) team, otherwise known as the Robotics team, has new plans to start off their year along with  a new instructor, Mark Snodgrass.

Snodgrass has build up not only a passion, but a love for helping these kids build robots and putting a smile on their face. This is his first year at SHS. He transferred to Southport from Center Grove, taking the place of his friend, Mr. Mike Taylor.

“The idea behind it (robotics) is to inspire kids with the help of professionals in the field to reach their potential, drive interest up in science and engineering jobs,” Snodgrass said.

He says  being a part of the FIRST team, students can obtain many scholarships for a plethora of things. Being a part of the team this year, there are many changes and a lot of opportunities for students to show off what they are good at.

One of the team mentors, Mr. Zach Evans, helps Snodgrass during the season with the building process and during  competitions. Evans says the building season starts Jan. 6, and that is when the teams starts designing and figuring out an approach for the game.

There are teams all over the country that compete. There are 3,400 teams this year with  85,000 kids from  across the world. The game is themed different every year. Last year, the theme was “FIRSTS Stronghold,” and this year’s theme is “FIRSTS Steampunks”. On Jan. 7, the team finds out more about the theme and has six weeks to design their bot.