This past summer, 2025 Pinewood graduate Kathleen Xie, senior Kyle Ma, and junior Aaron Xie won first place at the Botball International Tournament in Oklahoma, competing under the Los Altos Community Botball Program.

   Team LACT 0399 consistently produced great results, with two third-place finishes and one second-place finish in the past few years.

   This year, throughout the preparation process, the botball team learned many problem-solving skills. To resolve any disagreements, team members would present their ideas, and the rest of the team would vote based on the pros and cons of each idea.

   What set the Los Altos team apart from their competitors was their approach to the challenge; others tried to score high points with a low consistency rate, whereas the Los Altos team went for a consistent and simple strategy.

   Despite winning the entire tournament, Aaron Xie hopes to grow as a team.

   “Our end goal is also to get number one, and to develop the team for the next [few] years,” Aaron Xie said, hoping it can perform well even in future years.

   Outside of botball with the Los Altos Community Program, Ma and Aaron Xie have helped coach many younger kids on the Pinewood robotics team as they wanted to spread their passion of robotics and make it more accessible for younger kids.

   “I just mentored seventh and eighth graders [last year] … [so] I learned a lot about mentoring there and how to teach aspects of robotics,” Aaron Xie said.

   Similar to Aaron Xie’s enthusiasm, Ma’s passion for robotics prompted him to start the Pinewood Botball Club two years ago with the help of Pinewood robotics teacher Mr. Rees.

   “Mr. Rees was extremely supportive as a mentor for me. He very much inspired me to start the botball club at Pinewood,” Ma said. “I coached junior high robotics in ninth grade, and Mr. Rees was very inspiring to me because he was so supportive.”

   As two students heavily involved in robotics, Ma and Aaron Xie have advice for those interested in participating.

  “If you’re new, it’s also important to work with [and] collaborate with your peers,” Aaron Xie said. “If you work as a group, it’s going to be better than working by yourself.”

   In addition to working with the team, Aaron Xie also advises students to use coaches as a resource.

   “Listen to your coach,” Aaron Xie said. “Your coach probably has the best information [on] what to do, what not to do, and they can give you a lot of advice for robotics.”

   Finally, Ma highly encouraged those interested in trying their hand at robotics.

   “As long as you truly have a passion for robotics … and you keep seeking to deepen your understanding of robotics … then you will definitely succeed,” Ma said.