[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by NYCBobby

I hate to be a Kill Joy, but having mentored FIRST Robotics for 15 years, I am not a fan of the 3-day build. I feel it greatly stifles the creative thinking of our students. Once they see that 3 day build they want to basically build the same thing and I can't exactly blame them, after all, it's designed by a super smart, super experienced engineer and in all likelihood often will be better than what they might come up with. I think if you want to build something in three days go on Junk Yard Wars or build a funny stupid robot for the entertainment value. You think it will be inspiring but I think it can be demoralizing too. But hey, it's free country.

-BOB STARK, team 395, 2 Train Robotics

Pretty harsh words right here. I think you're being more critical of these resources than you are of your own team's processes. A properly organized team and build process can discuss all sources of information. If you feel that it is this negative to your process, talk to your kids about how everyone feels about it. Don't just take it out on the various groups and teams trying to do something good for the community. There's pretty much 0 possibility that your kids don't already see a ton of prototyping videos on Youtube from a variety of teams and groups, but it is up to YOU to help them determine what designs to pursue. This and Build Blitz from VEX will show teams what a baseline for a competitive robot will be. It has the potential to raise the bar at competitions.