[the_godfaubel]

Step 1: become passionate about what you do. While you have this down, you need to instill that same passion in the rest of your team. There's a reason why the "I" in FIRST stands for Inspiration.

Step 2: obviously, get funding. There are many ways to go about this: you could have fundraisers like a car wash, talk to parents to see if they work for someone that could sponsor you, or just call around to see if companies are interested in potentially sponsoring you, etc...

Step 3: getting out your comfort zone. There are teams that will specialize in one type of design and just stick to it. Don't be afraid to try new ideas. Now, obviously, this can sometimes be limited by funding, but that's why it's after the funding step.

Step 4: make sure everyone understands the rules! The biggest way to fail at competition is by not knowing the rules and potentially costing your alliance a match. Obviously, this affects how you are viewed by other teams and can decrease your odds of being selected during alliance selections.

Step 5: find a strategy that works well. This is kind of vague, but there's a reason that the best robots don't always win at every competition. A great robot is nothing without a good strategy.

Step 6: have fun! It's hard to do well at a competition without having any fun, so make sure it's enjoyable to your team. This will probably bring out the best in them and make them want to do it again.

For obvious reasons, there's probably numerous other things you can do to become competitive. I hope this helps and wish you and your team the best of luck in achieving your goals.