[Loxmyth]

I think more teams share the same frustrations as you. I believe the biggest obstacle for most teams boils down to time. The teams that are part of a school that has incorporated FRC into their curriculum, or that have paid full-time mentors are far ahead of other teams that operate on a volunteer basis. Even a full-time teacher that mentors a FRC team as an extra-curricular activity is not a full-time FRC mentor. Even then, One mentor is simply not enough to run an FRC team efficiently. Three build mentors (as we have) is still not enough.

Most mentors juggle an overwhelming number of tasks, becoming 'a jack all trades, but master of none.' Although very difficult, seeking more volunteers is the key. Not just volunteers to help mentor the students, but volunteers to help with all the background stuff that a FRC team needs. The more volunteers a teams have, the more time the team has.

More time allows for:

more fund seeking (sponsors, grants, etc.)
Grants take a lot of time to research and write. Volunteers with full time jobs simply don't have the time to do this easily. Finding a volunteer that will tackle this task is very difficult. Traveling to and from all the potential sponsors is very time consuming. Having more than one volunteer to help with this task is a huge help to the team.

more planning (you have time to plan the day, week, month)
I have noticed over the years that planning the day's activities ahead of time gives better work flow, especially during build. This is not such an easy task for volunteers that are around for the exact amount of time that the students are. Planning the day's task before students arrive is important, but difficult for mentors with full-time jobs elsewhere.

more mentoring (you can spend more time students)
A mentor that spends part of their time performing background tasks (grant writing, day planning, making orders, etc.) has less time to spend mentoring students.

more recruiting (students AND volunteers)
The more people involved in a FRC team, the more the word gets out.

Executives have administrative assistants for a reason, it allows them to better focus on their job and delegate some of the supporting tasks for someone else to perform. It makes them more efficient. That is what all FRC teams really need. It is what I see in a lot of large, successful teams.

Finding volunteers is a difficult task, and a subject all of it's own.