[Ekcrbe]

I think this can be turned around and looked at the other way:

If you* can't make it to enough (enough is subjective) meetings and team activities, then why should he/she be allowed to be considered part of the team? As Billfred pointed out, FIRST is not a right, it's a privilege, and to add on to JosephC about our team, you can't play winter sports and be on the team. It's not because we don't want you, it just doesn't work. There are always some exceptions to be made for special circumstances, but being on the team means being with the team. Plus, if you can't be at the majority of required team activities, are you even learning anything? It would be a sleight to FIRST and deceit on your part to claim FIRST experience without actually going through the whole process. Any other sport requires that you be involved and academically and behaviorally eligible. FIRST teams should hold their students to even higher standards. Our team put up a big list on the whiteboard in our main meeting room of priorities, to remind everyone that FIRST comes after school. They say FIRST looks good on college resumes, but you have to get to college (i.e. graduate high school) for that to matter.

*Obviously, you is not directed at anyone, but rather the hypothetical subject of this situation.

Sorry for my very long-windedness and disorganization, but I hate leaving out thoughts.

P.S. If it was my team that was the subject of the OP, I would feel attacked and hurt by this post. This was a scathing and unprovoked attack that is unquestionably leaps and bounds farther outside the ideals of FIRST than any acceptance/denial program any team has. Imagine your team being the recipient of a post like this. If you think you need to be anonymous so that your team is not aligned with these thoughts, what does that mean of your thoughts? To me, it seems to mean that it would be embarrassing for your team if the world knew one of theirs believes something like this, and therefore this information should not be public.