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Originally Posted by OScubed
On our team our adult mentors stay where they belong - on the sidelines. es that bear the responsibility.
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Please cite me something, anything, from FIRST that says mentors "belong on the sidelines" or anything to that effect. This is simply a fallacy.
Teams may OPT for their adult mentors to guide from "the sidelines," and it is a perfectly acceptable strategy. But other teams find a different method, with more involved mentors, suits them better. Just because you prefer your mentors to have a more hands-off approach doesn't mean mentors "belong on the sidelines."
Quote:
Originally Posted by OScubed
By placing an adult mentor in the coaching role on the field you are depriving a student of the experience. Our best and most dedicated team members have come into their own in a leadership role through being coaches.
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And by placing a student on the drive team, you're denying three other students on your team and many more on other teams the experience of working with a (hopefully gifted and inspirational) mentor. It works both ways.
I'm all for both student and adult coaches. It depends on the needs and wishes of your team, and what works best for you. I've spelled out my opinions and individual factors in several other threads about this topic, and I've coached both as a student and as a college mentor. The one thing I do feel important is chemistry, and making sure the drivers and coaches have time to work together before going onto the field (and even from year to year) in order to figure out how to best work with each other.