Novi’s Frog Force robotics team presents season recap and community outreach plans

Students and mentors from Novi High School’s Frog Force presented a recap of their 2024–25 season and outlined outreach and mentoring programs Tuesday evening to the Novi Board of Education.

Janet Bloom, a long-time Frog Force coach, introduced student speakers who described the team’s competitive results, design process and community engagement. Aditya, a student presenter, said the team has more than 120 members for the 2024–25 season and described Frog Force as Novi High School’s first Hall of Fame team.

Competition results highlighted by the team included district-event performances at Milford, Jackson and Livonia and an appearance at the World Championship, where the team reached the semifinal rounds on its field. Students said the team won a sustainability award at the Jackson District event and an autonomous programming award at the Livonia event.

Student presenters described the team’s robot — a 125-pound machine they said can move in any direction at up to 15 feet per second, manipulate PVC “coral” pieces and rubber-ball “algae,” run preset autonomous routines using vision systems and perform a ground intake that can pick up game pieces and lift the robot on a field element.

Beyond competition, students described Frog Force’s local programs for younger builders (MBOT), a Motor City Alliance initiative supporting Detroit-area teams, and a unified-robotics program run with Special Olympics to pair athletes and peers in STEM activities. The team also described international mentorship through First Global’s Global STEM Corps, noting Frog Force mentored Lesotho’s national team through virtual workshops covering technical and programmatic topics.

Tim Brush, director of engineering at Magna Seating — a founding sponsor — spoke to the board about the value of the program, calling Frog Force “a remarkable organization” that “mirrors the dynamics of a real-world technology design and manufacturing organization,” and thanked coaches, parents and volunteers.

Students also listed community service activities, including partnerships with Forgotten Harvest, Hospitality House and Vista Maria, and volunteer demonstrations for district youth programs. The team encouraged the board and community to follow Frog Force on social platforms and thanked the board and sponsors for continued support.

Ending: The board thanked Frog Force for the presentation and praised the team’s outreach and program development. No board action was required.