[archiver]

Posted by Andy Baker.

Engineer on team #45, TechnoKats, from Kokomo High School and Delphi Automotive Systems.

Posted on 11/9/2000 10:15 PM MST


In Reply to: Info for starting a new team (again, I'm sure) posted by Greg Young on 11/9/2000 1:38 PM MST:



Greg

First of all... good luck. I wish you well. One thing that you'll find is that teams are very willing to help other teams.

Secondly, no one team or person has all of the right answers. Each team is formed differently, and operates as pioneers... since we are not established sports teams or long-standing organizations, each team is kinda blazing their own trail.

So, with that said... here are my opinions:

(I'm going to generalize, so bear with me)

Students: Make sure you get multiple grades involved, freshmen through seniors. Also, don't just recruit the 'ultra-smart' crowd (Calculus, Physics, etc. students)... you also need people who can make parts and get their hands dirty. Also... embrace students who get B's and C's... they are the ones who will benefit the most from FIRST. You are building a team here, and not for just this year.

Teachers: These folks gotta be the backbone of the team. They tend to stay on the team longer than engineers, and they see the students more. BUT, teachers actually have less time to put into the team, unless their school system puts aside time for the team during the school day. Have the school pay them like they pay a sports coach. Make sure the sponsoring company shows their appreciation to the teachers.

Engineers: Having a diversely skilled group of engineers will help you out. I'll try to describe what we have in order to run our team smoothly. There are a couple of us who are good at designing and teaching design to the students, and there are others who are good at making parts and putting things together (skilled tradesmen are the best at this). There really is not enough time for the designer to do much of the build work, so prints are important.

Last year, we actually had a complete set of prints for our mechanical design... for the first time. If you have a good CAD-savvy machine designer (or two) you can get this done. We had our most complex robot ever combined with the least amount of trouble in 2000.

Parents: These people are the most loyal and dedicated adults on the team... once you get them. Get them involved early and treat them just as a teacher or engineer is treated, and they will show their loyalty to the team.

The more you can get your students involved... the better. BUT, since it is your first year doing this, do not expect or require your students to do as much as students on other teams. On our team, we have a core of 10 students who have been on the team for 3-4 years... I'm constantly amazed at the talents and skills they have acquired over the years.

Many people may disagree with me on this... but I'll say it anyway:

This year, include your students along the way as you go through this project, but don't hold up your milestones and sacrifice your progress too much by doing this. Get the job done... ship the robot on time and have enough time to practice. Don't fret too much if students are not doing the majority of the work. BUT, increase your student involvement every year.

In 3-4 years, you can get to the point where students are running the meetings, designing sub-assemblies, making most of the parts, and making the strategy calls at the competitions. Do not expect them to do this during this next year.

I can give you more details if you want... but I'll stop rambling for now.

In the mean time, check out our team's webiste (link below). We have a 'Team Handbook' with a student contract, student position applications, and much other stuff in it that shows how we run our team (we use this mostly for parents). Also, we have started posting some designs that people can borrow from previous year's designs. This stuff is down-loadable.

Also, take advantage of other teams' and organizations' websites... like you're doing here.

Take care,
Andy B.