[Kingland093]

Hello,

My team has gone through the same thing just about every year so the biggest thing we do to minimize the frustration is that the graduating seniors will teach the underclassmen everything they know.

This is best done during the season but you could have meetings a couple times a week until school ends or during the summer. Try coding an old robot or maybe try tweaking the existing robot's software (add sensors, new features, etc). Alternatively you could try to build something for fun as a design exercise.
In the fall of 2014, we built a mecanum chassis (yes we did this voluntarily!!!). This was helpful for the build and design teams as it was something brand new for them. We ultimately used mecanum for Recycle Rush

Definitely try to find a programming mentor. Use connections of existing students and mentors (our programming mentor last year had a son on the team and our mentor this year has a student in our junior high)

If that doesn't work, reach out to local teams. We're about 2-3 hours away from you but I would be more than happy to remotely assist you (we use java). Shoot me a pm if you're interested.

You guys had a really cool robot this year! I talked with one of your mentors for awhile and you guys have a great program!
Hope to see you on the field sometime!