Re: Rookie Mentor for 2016, help?
 

Oh lordy, are you in for it. As someone else put it, get ready to drink from the fire hose.

All those comments above are excellent, but one thing didn't stand out:

Time Management.

Keep things on track, even if sacrifices and compromise is necessary. 6 weeks goes super quick. It is OK to spend a week in design, but only if your students already know how to build. Get help, asap.

Re: Rookie Mentor for 2016, help?
 

+1

Keeping a schedule is critical, but build in enough time for design. Week 1 "build" should be limited to field elements, testing and familiarization with the stuff in the KoP, a few rough prototypes, and a drive train once the drive style and dimensions are known. Wait until you know the dimensions - every time we take a KoP chassis apart and put it back together, we wind up with leftover parts and have to go through part of the process again. Be methodical and do it once!

Our 2014 robot was definitely a better built machine than our 2015 robot (we lost a lot of seniors and juniors and took on a lot of rookies in 2015), but our 2015 robot went to CMP because it did the right things for the game, even though it did not do them as well. If you have Those people who will not sit still doing strategy and requirements for the first few days, but have to have a tool in their hands should build field elements during this time. It will not be time wasted!