About Us

Team #2358 Bearbotics

Founded in 2008 as an RC car club by John Keyzer, we quickly discovered the wonders of FRC. REEFSCAPE will be our 18th season competing in FRC, although numerous setbacks, including the loss of beloved Head Coach and Woodie Flowers Finalist, John Keyzer, nearly hindered our success. 

John Keyzer was our team's coach from the beginning, and his undeniable resilience and dedication to the FIRST mission led to him receiving the well deserved Woodie Flowers Award in 2023. Mr. Keyzer’s work allowed for students in Bearbotics to truly develop the core values that FIRST preaches. As a coach, he took it upon himself to take the burden of funding and administration work to ensure that students could focus on the educational and hands-on opportunities that FIRST offers. 

Though we are an experienced team, we began this season feeling as if we were a rookie team. After last season, we found ourselves concerned about the possibility that our team may not make it to the next year due to a lack of funding – a dilemma that causes many FRC teams to disband.  

As students, we stepped up to fill in the gaps Mr. Keyzer's passing left. We fought tirelessly to secure funding to prevent us from ending up another disbanded FRC team. This year, we nearly doubled the student count in the club, and managed to secure funding that has been able to keep us more than afloat. Nevertheless, the journey since last season has not been easy in the slightest.

Our Mentors