[EricH]

I think it's a bit of the same thing you're doing it for.

--The team members who come out of their shell, learn something new, and spend the hours in the shop--and who grow.
--I've seen the thrill of victory--small and large--and the agony of defeat--small and large. I was there, about 10 years ago. I'm still there, in a different way. As a volunteer, they're all my teams, and yet none of them are my teams. Watching old friends and new get the announcement of a trip to Champs--especially when they didn't expect it--is incredible. And watching teams take those "oh, SO CLOSE" moments and use them for motivation, even better.
--It's like a family out here. Sure, we're all competitors (or officials). But when the going gets tough, there's always another team pulling in to help. And when the going is easy? That team is usually the team giving help.

And the other thing that doesn't hit you for a while is the networks these kids are developing. Think about this one: If it wasn't for working with other teams, there's a good chance I wouldn't be working in the job I'm in now. When these students graduate college, they will already be known in industry--their mentors and other network folks will make sure of that.

Funny little incident: I was actually approached today, before practice matches got going. A team was thanking me for helping them at the local scrimmage. I don't remember the help given (I was helping every team that needed it, on robot rules or on gameplay), but they do. My hope is that they use that to do well this weekend. It's not about what we, as volunteers do. It's about what the teams and students do with the help we give the.

A lot of times, you don't really catch those moments without being "behind the scenes" or "in the trenches". The volunteers that are there--moments like those keep us coming back, year after year.