Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperNerd256
I need CD's advice. My team, Team 256, runs well during the build season, and the same during the time of offseason events. But when we're not in competition, we go to a team stand-still, mainly in the November - December and the entire summer ranges. I know that both are break times, but the time in December is the time when we're dead the most (aside from me), and it's also the time when we need to be doing the most.
Aside from the CALGames offseason, we do almost no training, no meetings, or anything else the first semester of school, and when it gets time to build season, it really hinders the team. I know the mentors need breaks, but this time is sort of crucial for FRC teams like us.
What do you think?
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In order to give mentors a break, we would try to run offseasons by ourselves aside from if mentors have to travel with the team for liability. If liability is the case, we have mentors on 11 who travel with the team as the supervision. You can also get parents who get approved as adjust mentors. This allows the mentors to have plenty of down time after the main competition season.
As for October-December, try meeting twice a week with multiple mentors taking shifts on a bi-weekly basis. This allows everyone to run training sessions but also rest up before the main build season.
Talk to your mentors. Tell them why the summer and fall activities are crucial to a team's success and that the students can take ownership of the team at offseason events to take stress off mentors. As long as you keep it a give and take relationship on the team, you'll find that everyone is able to work out their own downtime so that they don't get burnt out. Main points: get more mentors so time can be spread around, and show more student responsibility so the adults on the team will be able to trust the students to do more of the work.
Hope that helps.