[Bryan Herbst]

I apologize if I misunderstood that part. Though I am sure you could find engineers willing to mentor an FTC team as well.

Also keep in mind that local teams are good for quite a number of things. Though merging with another team may not be optimal, chances are there are teams near you with quite a bit of experience gaining sponsors. Judging by the fact that your are from Michigan, I would guess that there are probably at least 10 teams within driving distance that would be willing to lend you a hand.