For the students on the Cobra Commanders robotics team at Cactus High School, building a

robot is only part of the mission.

The team competes in FIRST Robotics, an international league in which students have about six

weeks each January to design, build, program and test a robot for a new challenge. This season,

the Cobra Commanders earned a trip to the world championship in Houston after qualifying at

the Colorado Springs Regional, where they also received the prestigious FIRST Impact Award

for community outreach.

Coach Adam Shroyer said the competition is about much more than engineering.

“It’s actually not really about building the robot,” Shroyer said. “It’s about building students, to

become leaders and to show that STEM careers are important. The robot is just kind of the

vehicle to get kids excited about STEM.”

This year’s competition challenged three-team alliances to collect and launch yellow balls at

designated targets. Students designed nearly every aspect of the robot themselves, from design

to fabrication and programming, with guidance from industry mentors. Shroyer estimated

students complete about 98% of the work.

The team’s success extended beyond competition. After winning two regional events, the Cobra

Commanders redesigned their robot from the ground up before the world championship,

creating a faster machine capable of emptying its 70-ball hopper in roughly half the time of its

predecessor.

The season culminated with the team ranking 13th nationally and 22nd worldwide among

approximately 6,000 FIRST Robotics teams, according to Shroyer.

Despite competing against programs backed by companies such as Apple, Google, NASA and

SpaceX, Shroyer credits the team’s success to commitment rather than resources.

“It’s not about where you come from,” he said. “It’s what are you gonna put into it? Your work

will get you there.”

Shroyer’s connection to the program stretches back more than two decades. A founding

member of the Cobra Commanders as a freshman at Cactus High School, he returned to his

alma matter to lead the same program that shaped his own life and career.

“I wanted to give the students the same opportunity that I had while I was still in high school,”

he said. “It’s a program I truly believe in.”

Community outreach remains a cornerstone of the program. Team members volunteer

hundreds of hours each year leading STEM workshops, mentoring elementary students and

serving schools throughout the Peoria Unified School District.

Those efforts are what ultimately led the team to earn the Impact award, FIRST’s highest honor

for community engagement.

The team’s “Cobra Commanders” name is inspired by the villainous Cobra Commander from

the “G.I. Joe” franchise, and the tradition carries over to its robots, which are named after Cobra

operatives. This year’s competition robot was named “Wild Weasel.”

The Cobra Commanders are already preparing for next season. Through the Arizona Robotics

League – a competition series Shroyer helped create during the COVID-19 pandemic – the team

hosts monthly summer and fall events to give students additional opportunities to compete and

develop their skills. With many returning students and another shot at the world championship

as the ultimate goal, Shroyer said the work never really stops.

“We don’t want to just go to go,” he said. “We want to be competitive. We Want to try to win the

world championship and bring it back to Glendale.”