[efoote868]

At the start of each season (pre-build season), my team usually has a kickoff. Typically the team draws 60-70 at the start of the season, and dwindles to about 40-50 at the end. First thing (and imho the best) to do is to set expectations.


"I'm glad we have a large team this year, but realistically only 8 people can have their hands on the robot at any point in time, only 6 people can fit in the pits during competition, and only 4 people can be on the drive team.

If you expect that you're going to show up to a few meetings, goof off and not positively contribute to the team and then drive the robot, you need to rethink your expectations.

We expect you to behave as adults, and to figure out a way that you can contribute to the team. We're not here to babysit you, and during the build season we don't have enough time to find jobs for everyone as well as build a robot.

When it comes down to the end of the build season, don't feel offended if the people in charge brush you off or ask you to move. They'll be under incredible stress, and chances are they'll show it.

Having said that, we'll gladly help you learn roles on the team and we'll be even gladder if you can find roles on the team to fill."


After that you can describe the structure of the team, who is in charge of each part, and the mentors that associate with those parts of the team.