The Boys & Girls Club of
Santa Clara Valley Robotics team

Now in its third year the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley’s First Lego League Robotics Program has a solid group of true robotics lovers and keeps adding to their program with new youth!  Club members from both Santa Paula and Fillmore sites form the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley’s Robotics Team, The Stompers. 

The Stompers went back to basics and taught new members the ropes as they prepared to enter the 2016 First Lego League Challenge.  With the guidance of coaches, Lorenzo Manzano and Manuel Ortiz, practicing for the challenge included preparing for the robot game, project and core value portions of the competition.  While at the First Lego League Challenge they put their science skills to use and utilized robotics and technology to discover innovative ways to help solve the problems associated with the current handling of trash and recycling.  For their project portion of the competition the team chose to focus primarily on how to spread awareness on the importance of recycling.  Coach Manuel Ortiz explains, “Through their research The Stompers came up with the idea to create a recycling program that would be created by students for students.”

With twenty-five teams competing, The Stompers impressed the judges during the core value presentation with an amazing display of teamwork while explaining their recycling solution.  Jan Marholin, CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley proudly states, “It is exciting to see our youth embrace robotics and the critical thinking skills that go with it.  Whenever youth are engaged in a project, their passion and investment in it shows.”  Recognizing the importance of hands-on science, technology, engineering and math learning opportunities, Time Warner Cable through its Connect a Million Minds Initiative, is the proud sponsor of The Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clara Valley First Lego League Robotics Program.