[FIRST_Parent]

HoltDan

First off, I would like to say I am very sorry you experienced less than a joyful memory of attending a First Regional Competition, it should be a celebration of young people joining together to co-operate and compete.

Secondly, there is some very useful and wonderful responses and advice in this thread, and I would like to offer humbly somewhat a bit of an insight being a parent of a First Robotics participating student. I have witnessed both the "good" and somewhat less than good sides of being a "First Parent".

My child found the robotics team of his/her High School the very first year, and joined as soon as he/she could. The lead coach and mentors encouraged my child to develop, learn, and strive to push the bar higher for the team. To encourage him/her to tackle every challenge and new game year after year and to strive and get to the highest First Robotics Competition level of participation, compete on the Einstein field at the First World Championships. Which the team and my child finally experienced.

The very next year, my child was put in the position of being ostracized by the very same lead coach and one of the newer non-technical mentors as being "Too big for his/her britches", and yes I was told to my face by the lead coach those very words. The one hundred percent about face was most puzzling to me, yet I chose to let my child deal with the issue. I felt that his/her decision would affect his/her future.

Eventually my child resigned from that team, and within days was asked and welcomed with open arms to another First Robotics team who wanted his/her experience and knowledge. As you can understand, I have kept my child’s gender anonymous as he/she is still heavily involved in First Robotics.

Please understand I am in no way criticizing First or any First Robotics teams. I truly believe they have made my child into a much better young responsible adult, and I thank you for that.

Being a parent I watch from the stands, silently suffer the losses, and enthusiastically celebrate the wins, yes its not about the robots...it’s about the human factors, I get that.

Coaches, mentors......remember robots have no feelings, but students and parents do.

First_Parent