[xXhunter47Xx]

This is probably a problem that plagues many teams, not just yours. I see you're posting from an anonymous/alternate account and I can understand why.

Maybe it's time for YOU to step up and take a leadership position. If you feel as though nobody is doing anything to help, why don't you try and get help?

I am not one for disrespect of mentors. Mentors don't like that and that gives them points on NOT to come back. But you do need to tell them in whatever way is polite yet firm that they need to actually guide the students and not let them loose.

I can understand why the coach would leave it up to majority vote. It's the democratic thing to do. However, the issue is exactly what you're experiencing. Team captains not being able to lead is very annoying, I can assure you, but the best thing you can do is teach them to lead, either through yourself or through other means.

When you say "can not lead" do you mean they don't know how to lead or they don't know what they're doing? Because those are two very different things. If they know what they're doing but don't know how to lead, you or a mentor needs to show them.


As for the emphasis on growing size, maybe you can keep that. FIRST should be available to everybody, but maybe you should make your recruiting week much more... rigorous. To sift out all the "weak ones" and keep those who actually seem to have initiative.

I'm not sure on who you need to contact, but if you can't figure it out?
Let the program run itself into the ground this year. Remind/Tell the coach about the rich history of your team, all the awards that it has won, etc ASAP. Tell him/her that this team had such an amazing run, and remind him of 2015 and how not a single award was won. Remind the coach that the design team is diminishing. Hell, make a list of everything that you're seeing wrong with the team, bring it up to the coach, and keep reminding him/her. If it doesn't get through to them, let the program crumble. If the coach doesn't believe/care, then they will soon see the magnitude of the problem if it truly is as problematic as you say it is. They will see it as soon as competition comes around. I wouldn't say rub it in their face that you were correct, but you should definitely bring up that you were correct (politely, of course).

Also, look for more mentors. I know it's hard, but they're out there. You have an almost limitless amount of resources available at your fingertips. If you can bring new mentors in, it will either phase out the old "non-helpful" mentors or inspire them to actually be mentors again, and having adults in the program will definitely help bring the program back on track as students tend to listen to adults more than other students sometimes.