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I think the biggest problem that I see is teams that just don't have a clue about how to build things with their kit. In OCCRA last year, it was interesting to see high school students, working on their own for the first time, who had no clue about the basic principles of building a robot, mainly because noone had ever shown them how.
Workshops on basic principles, like motors, wiring, and robot physics are far more important for rookies than anything else. You can get along without things like programming, pneumatics, and other advanced skills. Without the basics, however, you are going to be totally lost. Case in point: the "bulldozer bot." Since nobody ever showed new OCCRA teams how to make things like arms and such, many teams tried using a giant shovel to scoop up balls. It was the only thing they knew how to make, so that's what they did. With instruction, they could be shown how to effectively build a frame, build an arm, and do other vital skills.
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