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Re: Training team
Tim,
In 2013 our program of 140 students added a second FRC Team, FRC 193. This team is our JV Team which is our Freshman Experience. In 2014 we had 54 first year students on 193 and 92 students on our Varsity Team - FRC 11. With two years of operating 193 now under our belts, it's been a beneficial move for our program. Yes there's more cost, space and mentor needs but in the end our students are learning and are better prepared for their time on 11. Our team is opposed to cutting students since we feel that if they want the FIRST experience they should have the opportunity to be a part of our program. With our continued growth we had to develop a plan to better manage the growth issue for our program.
Along with our second FRC team, in 2014-2015 we are adding 13 FTC teams as well since we've continue to have additional growth in our robotics engineering course offerings. The FTC program will allow us to offer the FIRST experience to an additional 100+ students who can't commit to our FRC afterschool program but still want to explore and experience FIRST & robotics. We're excited about this new addition this year to our program and look forward to extending our reach to more students at our school.
If there's anyway we can support your efforts/share our experiences please let me know. I submitted a request to present on the topic of Managing Team Growth at FIRST Champs this past year but the workshop was denied. It's a topic I feel very strongly about...there's minimal support for programs in our position, so the next best option is to help support each other.
Stay well,
Dave Bodmer
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