[KrazyCarl92]

For next year, try to find an offseason competition in the fall to attend and bring your entire team, including any prospective new members. The competitions are what really gets most kids excited about the FIRST experience and if they can see it first hand before the season starts, it really gives the newer kids something to look forward to, something to expect, and something to shoot for.

Expectations are very important. Prior to the season, it is imperative that your teammates know what is expected of them as a member of the team and for your team leaders and mentors to be aware about what your teammates expect from the team. If on both sides expectations are met, it makes almost everyone a happy camper. Great examples of expectations are minimum number of build season hours, minimum community participation, what you expect from your teammates in order to be able to build a robot, etc. On my team, these expectations, along with certain academic standards, are to be met for you to attend a competition. In most cases, getting these kids to be motivated can be done if they see a competition and then see what it is they need to do to get themselves to a competition.

For now though, try to get them excited by showing them videos or pictures about what other teams are doing, show them footage of match videos from thebluealliance.net, and most of all lay down some expectations!