MCKINNEY, Texas — It’s not true to say there’s no ‘I’ in team when it’s just you.
A couple years ago, after graduation and COVID-19 took a toll on the McKinney Mercenary robotics team, junior Alex Schafer was the only student remaining.
“Being I honest, I thought I was going to have to join a different team.”
Team mentor and coach Mary Mobley wasn’t much more optimistic.
“Pretty good odds that it wasn’t going to continue,” Mobley said.
Yet, somehow, this team of one engineered a remarkable turnaround.
Today, they have 28 kids in the high school program and a new coach.
Their most significant achievement, however, came just a few weeks ago at the state tournament.
The Mercenaries admit that when the season started they didn’t even think they’d reach state. They not only qualified, they won the IMPACT award, the most prestigious award in the FIRST robotics organization, just two years after nearly folding.
“It’s crazy to think how far we’ve come in this year alone,” said eighth grader Gargi Garg.
“We’ve grown so much,” eighth grader Madison Mejia said. “It was almost like a total rebirth.”
The mercenaries finished the state tournament third place in their division.
And although they fell short of qualifying for the world championships, by making it this far they’ve learned something far more valuable.
“Everyone’s working together for the greater good and while we were doing it, we felt like we were a family and we were just doing it to have fun,’ Meija said.
“It gives everyone a glimpse into how great this could be,” Schaefer said.
From a team of one to this, what they’ve created is built to last.