[Sunshine]

90%+ of all the people responding are agreeing with each other. It goes back to what I said 7 pages ago. Different strokes for different folks. It's all about the evolution of the individual team and how far mentors can/want to take them.

The majority of our kids on my team are in an engineering academy with access to CNC mills and lathes. They have a few 3D printers to play with and a plasma cutter. The juniors and seniors have the experience and background to make our needed parts. Their experience will be different than other teams.

Then I remember the students I have met at competition who are from some big city schools. Their mentors have different priorities. Their goals include keeping the kids off the streets, keeping them fed. Keeping them away from the gangs. They don't have the facilities that I have access to. Sadly, they do not have the financial resources either. Do I have a problem with them using more COTS than us? Nope. Are they doing it right? Yup. Are we doing it right? Yup. Are all of you doing it correctly? Yup.

We're all doing what we think are best for our students. Some are ready for higher level goals and sophisticated challenges. Others will see success by the simple things like learning ohms law or how to wire without frying anything. Take 'em as far as you can and keep 'em excited about learning. Then we are all winners. It's really not about what happens on the field. It's about the journey getting to the field.