[GreyingJay]

Try to make sure that the team does not appear TOO product driven.

By that I mean, kids should not feel like "well, the robot is finished, so they don't need me anymore / there's no point in going".

For that matter, a feeling of success on the team should not be tied to "we did well in the competitions".

It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of build season. Then be stressed at how much work is left to do on the robot, and how little time we have to practice. The more technical members of your team will be engrossed in making the robot perform well, and getting it done in a timely manner. This is the point where the more junior members of the team will start to feel left out. It is tempting to go from saying "Here Bobby, why don't you crimp this connector, I'll show you how" to "Pass me the crimpers, and go be useful somewhere else while I finish this".

Kids want to take ownership of the product. They want to know that they have contributed. Sometimes it's clear - they can point to a part and say "I built that", or "I coded that". Sometimes it is less clear. I think it would be helpful if mentors kept this in mind and made decisions in a way that encourages the work to be distributed. Don't give it all to your expert. Design for compartmentalization. And recognize all the kids for their efforts. The kid who spent every night sweeping and reorganizing the screwdrivers deserves as much recognition as the kid who coded the robot state machines.

I suspect if you interview the kids who have stopped coming, they will say things like "Well what's the point? I show up and there's nothing for me to do. Billy and Johnny are the ones who did all the work, and [they won't let me help]/[I don't know how to help]/[I tried to help but they undid whatever I contributed]". (That last one is the most frustrating and heart-breaking.)

I really like the idea of extending the team activities to do fun social things, so that it doesn't feel like it's over once the competitions are done. Give them reasons to keep coming back that are not tied to robot build, performance, or their skill level.