Otterdrive
OtterBots is FTC Team 36009, associated with Lewis Middle School and participating in the San Diego FTC region.
FTC Team 36009 // Lewis Middle School
We Think, Therefore We OTTER.
A floating group of otters is called a raft. Sea otters gather close—and sometimes hold paws—so currents do not pull them apart. That is our model for teamwork: students, coaches, and families stay connected, share the load, and help every young engineer keep moving forward.
Ottermatics
We use robotics to help students practice problem solving, technical communication, teamwork, and the courage to learn unfamiliar things.
Otter Intelligence
Students own the question, tradeoff, test, and explanation. Coaches create safe challenges and share experience without taking authorship away.
Our mission
From Stream to Mainstream Engineering.
We help young people discover that difficult problems are invitations. With patient coaching, shared knowledge, and hands-on engineering, students can imagine more, learn faster, and build things that once felt beyond possible.
Small Hands. Big Futures.The frontier moves when students learn to ask better questions, work as a team, and trust their ability to create.
Our school
Lewis Middle School
Lewis Middle School is the school community associated with OtterBots FTC Team 36009.
Lewis Middle School5170 Greenbrier AveSan Diego, CA 92120- Phone
- 619-510-4300
- Fax
- 619-510-4320
Student ownership
Low Latency. High Otterity.
A raft stays together because every otter has a place in it. Our roles grow from real work rather than titles alone: students design, build, program, drive, test, document, explain, and teach, with decisions reviewed as a team.
Think Like an Otter
Define the problem, constraints, and evidence needed to make a decision.
Ottermation in Motion
Share subsystem context, review tradeoffs, and make integration visible.
Share the Otter Intelligence
Document the setup, result, failure modes, and next step for another student.
What guides us
Gears, Grit, and Otter Ingenuity.
DiscoveryAsk questions and learn unfamiliar tools.
InnovationUse creativity and persistence to solve real problems.
ImpactTurn learning into resources others can use.
InclusionMake technical work understandable and invite every voice.
TeamworkShare ownership, review decisions, and help partners succeed.
FunCelebrate the experiments, progress, and people behind the robot.
Nearby robotics community
No Otter Builds Alone.
OtterBots links students to nearby robotics programs and high-school examples without implying that every team shares the same legal organization or tax identity.
01
Open learning
Otters Use Tools. We Build Them.
Interactive FTC Blocks diagrams, downloadable programs, math explainers, and plain-language documentation.
Explore Code Lab →02FTC Resources
Learn the BIOBUZZ field.
Official game resources, scoring guidance, field videos, and the Competition Manual Assistant.
Explore FTC Resources →03Official sources
Otterclocked Learning
Current FIRST materials for team development, safety, robot building, programming, and season preparation.
Open resources →Evidence boundary: Student and coach rosters, recruiting details, outreach results, and personal contact information will be published only when the team has approved, consented, current content.
Our coaches
The Otter Side of Experience.
Our coaches share experience, create safe challenges, and help students turn curiosity into confident engineering.
Head Coach
Daris Drake
Coach 2