Oxford High School teacher Dan Balsley has been taking teams to the Ford/AAA Auto Skills Competition for 15 years — and this is the first year the auto shop instructor can proudly say he has coached state champions.
Oxford High School seniors Devon Hickmott and Nathaniel Lamothe took first place and the state title at the Ford/AAA Auto Skills Contest on April 28.
‘They are one of the most well trained teams I have taken to state finals in the 15 years I’ve gone,? said Balsley. ‘They have an amazing amount of natural ability.?
The Ford/AAA contest began about a month ago with a 50 question regional test to qualify for state competition. Hickmott and Lamothe scored a combined 75 points. At the state finals, the two seniors repaired 10 bugs in a 2004 Crown Victoria in 28:55.
‘We didn’t believe we were done,? explained Hickmott. ‘We actually finished well before that, but kept checking things over and over.?
Balsley said he could see the two rechecking their work for about five minutes after he knew for certain they were finished.
‘They were done early and it was easy for them, but they weren’t sure of themselves,? he stated. ‘They told me later that they were actually rechecking the car for about 10 minutes.?
However if you ask Hickmott and Lamothe, making the repairs on their Ford wasn’t the challenge, standing around while everyone else completed their repairs was.
‘The hardest part was waiting for the other people to finish and to get the final results,? said Lamothe. ‘We finished so early that the ending seemed to take forever.?
To prepare for the state finals, the OHS seniors worked for 4? hours everyday after school for two weeks on a Crown Victoria donated by Skalnek Ford in Lake Orion. Mr. Balsley would prepare the car with a daily challenge of at least 22 different problems. Hickmott said they would take about an hour to complete the repairs, and most nights Mr. Balsley would reset the car.
‘I knew back at Easter time they would do very well,? said Balsley. ‘These types of students don’t come around every year.?
In recognition of their accomplishment, Hickmott and Lamothe received a trophy, the competition banner, pit jackets, caps, Thunder covers and, what Lamothe says is ‘the best part of all,? $38,000 in scholarship offers a piece.
The OHS team members said they had both already planned on becoming auto technicians; being state champions with lots of scholarship money has simply changed where they plan on going to school.
‘We haven’t made any final decisions yet,? said Hickmott. ‘It depends on what happens at nationals now.?
‘Our first thought after winning was ‘Step one’s done,?? explained Lamothe. ‘Now we just move on to nationals and keep going to the next step.?
Hickmott and Lamothe will represent Michigan in the National Ford/AAA Auto Skills Competition on June 29 at Ford Motors Headquarters in Dearborn. The OHS seniors will spend four days at the contest, one day taking a written test and one day in the hands-on portion. ‘We’re starting over from the beginning,? said Lamothe in reference to their training. ‘We’re doing book work until we find out what vehicle their using, and then we start again from scratch.?