Team 9558: The Steel Vipers is a robotics team that competes in the FIRST® Robotics Competition. Team 9558 is a sister team mentored by Team 818. Team 9558 is comprised of the rookie members. Rookies go through Team 9558 as a way to train for their contribution to Team 818. The team was founded, in the 2024-2025 season, to improve the knowledge of the members of Team 818. The team is comprised primarily of high school students from the Warren Consolidated School District (Sterling Heights High, Warren Mott High, Cousino High, and MMSTC).
FIRST® (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is a robotics community that prepares young people for the future through a suite of inclusive, team-based robotics programs for ages 4-18 (PreK-12) that can be facilitated in school or in structured afterschool programs. Boosted by a global support system of volunteers, educators, and sponsors that include over 200 Fortune 500 companies, teams operate under a signature set of FIRST® Core Values to conduct research, fundraise, design, build, and showcase their achievements during annual challenges.
The FIRST® Robotics Competition (FRC) is the highest level of competition in FIRST Robotics, with teams primarily comprised of high schoolers (ages 14-18). The program promotes STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) through the building of a robot that will compete in the current season's robot game. There is a new game to play every season, which is revealed in early January when the new season begins. After the game reveal, teams are challenged to design, build, and program a robot to compete in competitions throughout March and April.