A robot that can carry tennis balls and knock down batteries is the design of a group of local engineers with an average age of 10.

Shane Fort has always had a passion for robotics. When his mother found the St. Pete Beach Rec Center’s Robotics Club he was ecstatic.

"I never really was a sports person,” said 10-year-old Fort. “So, I never thought I'd be traveling to do world championships and stuff but here I am in robotics doing that exact thing!"

It took a little more parental prompting to get Kayla Oates on board.

"My mother literally forced me into the car and I finally came here the first day,” said Oates.

Once the two kids got their hands on the tools they were hooked and Lego Terrestrials was born.

"I just pretty much sat down at a computer and started programming a robot,” said Fort.

To compete, the team needed a coach. Oates, a problem solver, had a solution. She recruited her grandfather, a mechanical engineer, to lead the group.

"'Cause when you're retired what else are you supposed to do? Sit around doing nothing?” Oates said of her recruiting decision.

Two more teammates, three competitions, and three trophies later, the Lego Terrestrials earned themselves a spot in the Robotics World Championship to be held in May in Detroit, Michigan.

"They are smarter than I am, in any way you want to talk about it,” said Alan Oates, the team’s coach. “They have the ability to take a box of parts and make something grow out of it."

Using a Lego set that comes with a computer brain, sensors, and motors, their robot can walk around a table without falling off and deliver balls into a cardboard box. Every maneuver creates a problem the team is eager to solve.

"I think it's cool that I build robots. I mean I never thought I'd be able to do something like this,” said Fort.

The team is looking for additional 4th through 8th graders to participate. If you are interested you can contact St. Pete Beach Recreation Director Jennifer McMahon.

McMahon originally came up with the idea for a robotics team and with the help of City Commissioner Jim Parent and his wife Leslie, they came up with the money to make it happen.