[Oblarg]

1) Find mentors. You cannot compete well in FRC without them, certainly not in your first year. This is the single most important point.

2) Have a plan. Do not wing it as you go. Make sure you do something productive in the preseason to familiarize your students with the type of work they'll need to do in build season. Every bit of learning done before kickoff is one less bit of learning you'll have to do during build season, when time is at a premium.

3) Do not aim too high. Grounded, humble robot designs are important for a rookie FRC team with limited resources. Always ask yourself during the design process, "can we actually build this," and more importantly, "can we actually build this well?" Find one simple task and try to be the very best you can at it.