[Kims Robot]

I've been watching this thread for a while, really trying to figure out how to add to this conversation without detracting from the initial idea of starting teams.

I would rather see a veteran team donate one of its senior mentors, college students, or anyone close enough to running the team, to run the rookie team, and let them do it for themselves. I've been through three rookie years now... and the rookie year is the most precious. Its the first year your team really sees the game, its when the amazing enlightenement occurs. I would propose to give them a leader rather than a robot design. Most teams dont want to give up their mentors. I get this... but if you are serious about the growth, let them catch the bug for themselves. I will be sad the day that a rookie team that was lead through everything wins the Championship Rookie All Star. We cherish that award, and its because our team did it all for themselves. Did they have my help? of course! Did they have my past experience? Definitely! Did we get help from teams like 229 & 191? Of course! Did they attempt things no other rookies had? Yup. Did they have a team design a robot for them? No.

Ok, so going back to Steve's point that you should do it where no team would exist or no team would have the courage to pursue/continue FIRST. I would argue that given a good leader, ANY team can succeed in FIRST. Look at all the teams that are starting to spring up from FIRST veterans. They all work, they all have courage, they all attempt FIRST, possibly without design experience.

This year, we adopted a team that lost its sponsor and dropped out of FIRST. We let their students continue with us, and next year, we are helping them start their old team back up. We have already agreed the robots will be completely different, but we will help eachother everywhere else we can.

I really thought the idea of the triplets was cool when I first saw it... but now that I see it popping up more and more, I have my doubts. The dependency scares me. I can see teams sharing designs in the offseason, maybe even building new robots from old designs for offseason competitions... but let the rookies learn what it is like to struggle. Show them how to ask for help from the veterans, show them how to fundraise, how to design an omnidrive, how to build an effective manipulator. FIRST is about growth... but to be honest, I dont think it can sustain the opposite curve of growth Stephen is suggesting. If it becomes too big, too political, too fast, it just wont have the same effect.

I know... I didnt really stay on the topic, but I will be honest, I dont know what is expected in this thread.