August 26, 2026 · Piedmont Makers
Coaches from eleven Piedmont Makers FTC teams spent an evening at 10th Street pushing code to a robot before the season starts.
Coaches and mentors from eleven Piedmont Makers FTC teams filled the 10th Street practice field tonight for pre-season training. Six of those eleven teams are rookies, run by parents taking on an FTC season for the first time.
The session was hands-on by design. Instead of a slide deck about the software, coaches connected laptops to a REV Control Hub, built the sample code, and pushed it to a robot themselves, so the first time they see a build error is in a room full of people who can help rather than in a garage the night before a meet. Paul Morrison and Laura Oliver, the two VPs for FIRST Tech Challenge, presented, with guest technical instructor Jess Hull on the control system.
The room itself is part of the answer for new coaches. 10th Street is the Oakland practice facility that Highlander Robotics 8033 raised the money for and runs day to day, and FTC teams work there through the season alongside the FRC field.
FTC teams get this season’s game, BIOBUZZ, at kickoff on September 12. The East Bay Hills League’s first meet is November 1 at Piedmont Middle School, with two more meets and the league tournament following through January. Every date is on the calendar.
Coaches can find the training deck, the season resources, and the coach Slack on the robotics page. If you want to help a rookie team, email hello@piedmontmakers.org.