📚 Training Materials
Welcome to the MARS/WARS Pre-Season Training Materials! This comprehensive curriculum is designed to help new and returning team members get up to speed with the software tools and practices used in FRC programming.
It is highly recommended to complete these lessons in order as they walk through the fundamentals step-by-step, building upon previous concepts.
The training path
Ten sessions take you from your first line of Java to a robot that drives and shoots by itself. You do not need any programming experience: each lesson teaches the Java it uses, right when it needs it.
Most lessons are done in Scriptum, our browser-based robot IDE (see Using Scriptum). Each lesson loads a project, a README with the steps, and a simulated robot you drive from the Driver Station. The Verify button checks your work. The slides on each lesson page introduce the ideas, and the exercises on the page match the Scriptum lesson.
| # | Session | New Java | What the robot does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hardware and Software Tools | none (git and the tools) | Set up your accounts and learn the tools |
| 2 | Motors and Drivetrains | calling methods, variables, operators | Tank and arcade drive |
| 3 | Sensors and Feedback | if / else, constants | Measure speed and distance, drive 2 m with bang-bang |
| 4 | Drive Math and Methods | writing methods, arrays, for loops | Move the math into methods |
| 5 | Objects and Odometry | classes, objects, static | Know where the robot is (kinematics and pose) |
| 6 | Mechanisms and Subsystems | inheritance, constructors | Drivetrain and shooter subsystems |
| 7 | Control Theory | practice | Bang-bang, feedforward and PID for the flywheel |
| 8 | State Machines | && || !, lambdas | A shooter that spins up before it shoots, and the robot's own state machine |
| 9 | Computer Vision | practice (a new state, a PID) | Know where it is from AprilTags and aim at the goal |
| 10 | Autonomous | a switch inside a switch (the transition table), step states, a lambda that registers a node | Follow Choreo paths, pick up, aim and shoot by itself, from a behavior tree built in Arbor |
2026 Pre-Season Training Sessions
Sessions start at 5:00 PM in Mr. Ballard's room and run about 3 hours. Time before and after can be used for Q&A and the hands-on exercises. Each session is offered twice a week to accommodate different schedules and two topics are covered each week.
| Date | Topic |
|---|---|
| Wednesday, November 4th, 2026 Thursday, November 5th, 2026 | Hardware and Software Tools |
| Monday, November 9th, 2026 Tuesday, November 10th, 2026 | Motors and Drivetrains |
| Wednesday, November 11th, 2026 Thursday, November 12th, 2026 | Sensors and Feedback |
| Monday, November 16th, 2026 Tuesday, November 17th, 2026 | Drive Math and Methods |
| Wednesday, November 18th, 2026 Thursday, November 19th, 2026 | Objects and Odometry |
| Monday, November 23rd, 2026 Tuesday, November 24th, 2026 | Mechanisms and Subsystems |
| 🦃 Thanksgiving Break | No Sessions 🦃 |
| Monday, November 30th, 2026 Tuesday, December 1st, 2026 | Control Theory |
| Wednesday, December 2nd, 2026 Thursday, December 3rd, 2026 | State Machines |
| Monday, December 7th, 2026 Tuesday, December 8th, 2026 | Computer Vision |
| Wednesday, December 9th, 2026 Thursday, December 10th, 2026 | Autonomous |
| 🎄 Holiday Break | No Sessions 🎄 |
| Monday, January 4th, 2027 Tuesday, January 5th, 2027 | MARS/WARS Outreach and Branding |
| Wednesday, January 6th, 2027 Thursday, January 7th, 2027 | MARS/WARS Lessons Learned |
| Saturday, January 9th, 2027 | KICKOFF! 🚀 |