[Al Skierkiewicz]

Ian,
I have tried to come up with a good response for this post. The best I can come up with, I will gladly speak to your mentors via phone or email anytime they wish. Please contact me via PM and I will exchange info with you.
Every rookie team has a mentor or mentors that feel this way after their first event. I was involved in helping start a strong program a few years back. During the first meeting, the lead told me "I think you ought to know, these guys do not like to lose." I let that lie as all of us do. We know that with a little bit of thought and some time to rest, nearly every mentor will see the benefit of being involved with this program. Any person who volunteers knows that the effort is worth every missed minute of sleep, lack of good meals, lost match, missed work assignment and problem student. As they progress, they will figure out how to grab sleep after build, live on what they can eat from a machine or fast food, chalk up lost matches to experience, take vacation if need be, and recognize that sometimes you turn a student around just by being there.
BTW, that organization now sponsors something like twenty teams. Not bad for just sticking with it.

I will gladly drive out and meet them and your team if you are within a few hours of Chicago.