Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber
I'm gonna have to disagree with you Gary, we can predict what teams will succeed with some accuracy. While it won't be 100% we can usually tell if a team is going to be sustainable by how it goes about finding help. I can't speak specifically for 2834 and 2771 but I can tell you that 2337 has some serious FRC experience in its mentor force. Not only that but they have community and parental support. All too often people will view money as the main resource an FRC team needs. People look at me like I am crazy when I say that I can always find money but it is true, money is a very widely available resource if you are willing to work hard and be creative. Engineers are in much higher demand. Skilled engineers who are also effective mentors are rarer still. Community support is another major hurdle that many teams neglect.
|
Certainly these are all factors which contribute to the sustainability success of the team. Without them it is nearly impossible to keep the team going. My point was that when teams are registering for FRC and seeking grants, there is no way to verify whether those success factors are in place or not. Even if part of the registration process was to ask, "Do you have mentors? Do you have parent support? Are there enthusiastic student leaders?" - there's still no way to monitor it.
When a team does not have things like that, it is imperitive for a mentoring team to teach the team these values, and help them to attain them. Existing teams sharing their expertise is one of the best ways to do this. Teams have to step up and help. I wouldn't want to see a rule making it mandatory, not allowing a new team to register without a sponsoring veteran team.