[Scott Ritchie]

Use good video. Use clips of students using the chop saw, mill or welder. Students love to see and make sparks. Bad video will hurt more than help. Let the kids pick the music and you approve but have an open mind. Our season video is on the Chief somewhere but I don't now how to link to it. If you don't have kids that can do this for you you need them. They will pull their weight and fit well in animation. Ryan Dognaux never much touched a robot but was a crucial member of our team for four years. I also ask certain students to apply or have our team find kids for me to talk to. They know that student that builds that killer volcano in the science fair. I also look for a good cross section of students. I look for popular students, quiet students, loud students, artsy students, athletes, nerds for lack of a better term ( I hate that tag). I think you need all of these to have a successful team. Be careful of basketball players and wrestlers they will have to much time committed to their coach and demanding more would be rough on them if their coach is running a good program. Swimmers I can sometimes work with. Band kids to me make the best robotics kids, they know what it is like to travel and they are generally creative. Their parents also know how to set up and run booster program. Since this is a donation run activity look for sons and daughters of influential people in the community. This is what we do and it works for us but probably not every one. Thats all I can type at one sitting.