[E3 Robotics Ctr]

I have gone from being on Teams, Mentoring, Judging, Coaching, and Running Tournaments now for JrFLL, FLL, FTC, and FRC.

I have been on both sides of the fence in this situation, so hopefully I can add something to this. While I don't know the whole background on what is happening in MN I know a bit of what has when on.

When I went to college I was then done mentoring and coaching some younger FLL teams. I was invited back as a volunteer for FLL events in our area. I was happy to help where ever I could. There was always roles I wanted, most of the time I was assigned something else. Looking back on it I was grateful, since I was able to work every volunteer spot before I took over as the FLL Tournament Director, which quickly expanding to several local school communities in the area. With this experience I feel I was better prepared to help serve the teams in my area.

I now know what I look for in my volunteers and what areas a person might best fit due to this experience. Looking at the "Do's and Don't" list they sent out, the info on there is valid, but at the same time I can see how some of the word selection comes across a bit brash and rough at times.

For me personally I love having college students help with any of my events. At the same time, for my Key Roles at any level of event I look for those with experience that I know of personally. As a tournament director if something goes wrong, even if someone else caused it, it comes back on you.
(Side Note: There is no such thing as a "perfect event", something will ALWAYS go wrong, it is how you handle that set back that makes your event good or not)
So when I look for those Key Role people I normal look for 21+ aged, with at least 2 years of experience, or know them from another event in which they did they same role, or if another Key Role person/Higher Ranking FIRST Person can back them up, I will feel comfortable giving them that position. When I have a someone that I do not feel is perfect for that Key Role position that they wanted, I will pair them up with that person that I know has experience. This way I can have some trained for the next event. (Those Key Volunteers wont be around forever you know!)


I know that my main background came from FLL and the JrFLL realm, since there was no FRC team at any of the local schools around me at the time, and FTC was not a thing yet.

I still got the chance to be tournament directors for both. And while I followed FRC since 2000 and FTC since it started I had not bee through any of the volunteering roles.

I will tell you, leading up to running a FRC and FTC tournament, I was at as many different tournaments I could get to, making connections, sitting in backrooms, talking to Judges, Volunteers, Key Roles, the Tournament Directors. And if that was not enough I was either emailing, calling, texting one of those people I had met at all of those event asking questions and getting answers and feedback. I went through every volunteer manual for FTC and FRC as well as all the online training that I could. I did not have the years to try out each of the roles at the event like I did for FLL/JrFLL. I learned as much as I could so I could run a successful event.

If I could go back and have time to work through all of the positions I certainly would have liked to do so, but running these events at all levels I can respect that each spot is very important to the tournament. (When you have people back out, or call off sick you realize how important those roles REALLY are)

I can say it is true that running a JrFLL, FLL, FTC, and FRC event is very different, each taking it's own set up and group of people to make it work. And each role is important at every event.


I guess my take away on this is, I am still not 30 and have experienced SO many more parts of FIRST Robotics than I ever would have thought. At the same time people that do not know me sometimes might look down on me due to my age, so I get the whole "Don't write me off, just because I am young!" thing. And on the other hand I see people within our generation wanting "Instant Gratification" to what they want. With both of these being said I know that neither is what we want to strive for within FIRST we have to keep in mind those Core Values they instill within us.

If you are able to get certain Key Roles at certain events, that is Awesome! Keep up the good work and keep helping out with those events! At the same time there will be events where you won't get the Role you want, be happy to help with anything. Like Carolyn said, those that come in early to help and stay late to pack up are some of the biggest help! I know if I need any last minute help my Key Volunteers are always the first to help, and those others that show they are there to help as well, even if they might not have a Key Role, I DO take note of that.

So keep volunteering, and know that every time you help is important, and I hope the discord within MN improves and Districts is possible for you in the near future. I know when IN switched last year to Districts it has set FRC in IN on a new path which has been a pretty great improvement. It was a great effort by IndianaFIRST to get everything in order to ensure it worked smoothly.


- Brian Boehler