Our Journey So Far

Doug Pruett started First Robotics Competition (FRC) at  ERHS  in 1996.  Back then, you had to actually go to New Hampshire to pick up the kit of parts at the beginning of the season.  That continued until 1998 when local schools were used. 

 

VEX Robotics was  showcased at FRC Nationals in Atlanta in 1994, where Doug and Michael Desch were so impressed that they decided, the next year, to start VEX at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland.  At first, the Eleanor Roosevelt students built VEX robots just to see what they were like, not at the competition level.  Back then, VEX was still part of FRC.

​

Doug retired in 2005, and VEX robotics was discontinued at Eleanor Roosevelt High School. Meanwhile, Michael and Doug  continued working with VEX in the Annapolis Area with VEX Team 341, the Iron Eagles, which was their first competition VEX team.

​

Back at Eleanor Roosevelt, Vjay Kowtha, a parent of a freshman, started the FRC robotics team back up in 2008, with Mike Desch and Matt Zuckerman as mentors. In 2010 they, along with Pat Healey, a parent of two Eleanor Roosevelt students, started a VEX robotics team, which has been known as "Team 53" and "Area 53", ever since. After 22 years, the high school finally abandoned FRC robotics around 2018 due to the high cost and many restrictions. From then on, the Eleanor Roosevelt team has participated in VEX robotics exclusively.

​

In 2018, Mark Campbell, another parent, helped restructure the team, and he coached it through the 2021-22 academic year.  In the spring of 2022, squad 53A competed at the VEX World Championship, a first for the Eleanor Roosevelt team. They qualified to compete at Worlds based on their performance at the Maryland state championship earlier that spring.

​

In the summer of 2022, Karl Hille, the father of two team members, became team's head coach. Starting in the autumn of 2022, the team has hosted an annual VEX tournament called either the Capital Beltway Challenge or the Beltway Battle. During its first two years, the tournament attracted 28 or more teams from Maryland and surrounding states.  In March 2024, three of the six robots built by the Eleanor Roosevelt team (robots 53C, 53E, and 53F) qualified to complete at the VEX World Championship, another first for the team and also for any school in Prince George's County, Maryland.

​

In many capacities, parent volunteers have played a big role in the Eleanor Roosevelt team over the years, a testament to the devotion they have to their children and to robotics. Our students learn leadership and mentoring along the way, with juniors and seniors teaching the new members the ropes.