[Coach Norm]

Originally Posted by Foster

The rest of you need to shut up. Sorry that that sounded harsh. You spent $6000 to be part of FIRST. Suppliers spent thousands in donations of parts. AM is trying their best to glue you together. FIRST isn't a business model, it's a donation model. Mark and Andy are smart guys, and I'm sure they did this with the best intentions (or has Mom says "The Road to Hell is Paved with the Best Intentions" )

It's not part of your $6000 birthright. It's free stuff as a bonus.

FIRST is partially duplicating an engineering lifecycle. Parts shortages, parts price changes, parts (insert verb) are part of the real world.

But, on a more personal level, I'm more disappointed in the mentors that have whined in this thread. Is the pressure that bad that 23 days before kickoff you are in a full meltdown? Really? Can I get a build site address so I can come Presidents Week in February to watch your team?

Mentors, we are leaders. Life is full of adversity. If this is the worst problem that you face in the next 10 weeks, I'll come kiss you on Einstein. Lead, don't teach people to whine. We have too many Lawyers that do that

Well said.

I completely agree that mentors should not only be setting the example but should also be more diligent in making sure their team understands that this complaining is not helping.