About the Team
Every veteran FTC team was a rookie team once. Here's who we are, why we started, and what we're building toward this season.
How We Started
Leopard Robotics started the way most rookie FTC teams do: a small group of students who liked building things more than they let on, and a coach willing to figure out the rest alongside them. We're based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and this is our first season competing in FIRST Tech Challenge.
There's no long history here yet — no banner of past regional wins, no drawer full of old robot parts. What we do have is a team that showed up to learn CAD, wiring, and Java from close to zero, and a mascot that made the decision easy: a leopard built out of circuit traces felt like exactly the right way to describe a team that's part animal instinct, part engineering.
Team number 36672 is new to the FTC roster this year. We intend to make it a number people recognize for the right reasons — sound engineering, good sportsmanship, and a robot that shows up to every match ready to run.
At a Glance
What We Care About
Gracious Professionalism
We compete hard and help the team next to us fix their robot between matches. Both things are true at the same time — that's the sport.
Students Build It
Mentors teach and guide, but the students write the code, spec the parts, and make the design calls. It's slower. It's also the entire point.
Show the Work
Engineering notebooks, documented failures, and honest post-match reviews matter as much to us as the final score does.
A Note From the Coach
"Starting a program from nothing means every win this year is a first — first robot that drives straight, first match, first sponsor who believed in a team with no track record yet. I'm coaching this team because I want to watch that happen."