[CircularLogic]

The key to consistency is to have consistent team members. And who are the most consistent team members? Teachers and mentors. Even the most dedicated student can only realistically be around for 4 years. And in that time, a dedicated student will build a tremendous amount of knowledge about FIRST. That is everything from knowledge of building techniques, programming ability, the ability to interject reality into design discussions, a feel for the game and strategy, basically everything.

But once that person leaves, most often for college, that talent is gone.

But if you have a mentor (industry professional or teacher) that is as dedicated as the student, that talent and knowledge will be around for a long time. Also, mentors tend to have more power than students when it comes to organization. So even though a student might want to hold off season prototyping and training sessions, its not going to happen without a mentor just as dedicated.


Like it or not, this is a program that cant be won, consistently, without dedicated mentors (I tend to not like that fact). However, I wouldnt trade my student-run experience for one where the mentors are the most dedicated people on my team. FIRST, to me, isnt about winning. It is about the journey more than anything else. It is about pride that I recieved when our team over comes the odds against us.