[GeeTwo]

Prepare and file a chairman's award submission. You aren't eligible as a rookie, but we have found that the skullwork we put into reporting what we actually do helps inspire us to do more each year. I also suspect that when rookies do these, they are available to the rookie all star judges.

Come to your first competition ready to provide help, even as you are ready to receive help. Our rookie year, there was another rookie team at Bayou that thought the robot was supposed to be built on Thursday. We sent the students who built our KoP chassis and a programmer and helped them at least have a robot that drove.

If your one veteran player hasn't figured out already, make it clear that (s)he has a significant fraction of the team's FRC experience, and there is a responsibility to teach everyone else (including the new adults) about the mechanics of the tournament, gracious professionalism, and FIRST culture in general.

Make it loud - don't be the "stealth team" within your school. Do something to get on the announcements every week or two, including some presentations/group projects at pep rallies and so forth. You can't change the culture if no one knows you're there. Especially if your school has a strong sports/competition culture, intentionally market yourself as a team, not a club. While many teams have names and branding that do not reflect the school, selecting a name and branding (colors) that mesh well with the school's will help. If your school colors are green and silver, does it really make sense for the team colors to be red and blue when you do a demo during halftime? Especially if your opponent that day is the Patriots?