Alaina-
Gee- what do you say to a problem like this? Generally when we recruit kids the first thing we look for is this very same dedication. We normally get about 50 new signups in September but they graduallly dwindle down as the fall fund raising and off season events move on. The ones that remain have a commitment because they invested so much effort in the team prior to the season that they feel it is "their team".
But at this point the team should be mobilized and working and time is running out.
Here are a few suggestions-
1. pick the top 5 kids you have and assign some achievable job for the coming week. Have them report on it to the group. Chances are all the newbies have no idea about what to do with building a robot and don't want to look bad to the group. Neither do they want to be the "labor" without an opinion. But if they develop an responsibility to the group they will perform better as a team.
2. build the kit robot in the next few days. That way they get some experience building something and the controller gets set up and checked out. Then, while the competition bot is in process, the kids have something to play with to get them motivated. It will also show all the adults involved that this team means business and will operate whether they show up or not.
3. get help- Napa's Vintage HS was the National Champ in 2000. Our/their partner was a team led by Dr. Bot (Mr. Federman) of CD fame, also an experienced Ca. firster. I'd check those two sources about getting some help for your team for the interim while your engineer is away.
I know this seems like a tragedy now but if your team is meant to survive it will. I can tell you, you don't want a team full of kids who have no commitment and cannot be relied upon. So when they decide that activity XYZ is more important my response is generally to let them go and fill their spot with someone I can rely on. Each spot on our team is earned and none are irreplaceable- including mine.
Good luck. I'm sure you will get the bot' built. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk,
WC
