Welcome on bord!
Nice to see new teams forming.
I'm a student and I participated in FIRST this year with the only Vermont team, Team 885. We're a rookie and I learned a whole lot this year. Since I'm an exchanges tudent from Germany I'll be going back home this summer and then I'll try to start a team there. If you have any specific questions about anything, feel free to email me at
psycho.phil@gmx.de
Your next step would really be to get some money!
I think you know that it is pretty expensive?!? $5000 entry fee to get the kit from FIRST etc. and then $4000 for each tournament and te nationals if you go. That adds up. You need to pay for shiping your robot, the additional parts that it is built from and so on. Try writing letters to local companies ad to big businesses that are doing robot-related stuff. Maybe you can even find someone who is willing to let you use their machine shop. Try to go with your students to companies that have the kind of machine shop that you need and tell them what you're doing, what it is all about and so on. Maybe you get some engineers interested.
Try to assign tasks wthin your team: -generell organization (of meetings and everything); -robot building; -robot driving; -fundraising; -playing field building (this year a goal or two had to be built to be able to meassure exactly what your robot's dimensions should be , where a gripper for a goal should be located and so on and to practice)
and every other taks needed ( i definitely forgot somthing here, just not usre what ;-)
As said, feel free to email me, Phil