[pmangels17]

If you wish to hold onto more members initially, one way to do it is to attend fall offseason events and bring new people with you. Let them spend time scouting, in the pits, and exploring to find what they like. Give them a chance to get behind the glass if they seem interested in it (sometimes they are too shy to ask, so you might have to say something like "Hey so-and-so, how would you like to take a crack at human player next match?"). Obviously if you are going to let them try the drive team, you have to train them at least somewhat before the event, but I've definitely noticed that getting kids to drive or be the human player is the easiest thing to get students to do at meetings.

Also, invite kids's parents and show them around as well. Sometimes if parents know their children are going to a safe place where they are going to have fun, learn a lot, have a chance to grow and develop, and be better equipped for handling whatever is thrown at them, then they will give their kids more support for being on the team. Having committed parents and guardians is important to making sure kids have the means to participate on the team, and also when students come home excited about something they did at robotics, having parents that are excited to listen is really encouraging.

This won't solve every problem, and you can't expect every kid who comes out at the beginning of the school year to dive full-on into robotics, but it might help you keep around a few more people every year, and having a larger body of interested, passionately engaged students on your team will also be a critical recruiting asset in the future.