[CrazyCarl461]

Though it is my opinion that every team should have a good technical mentor to get the most out of the program, it is not necessarily required to have a successful season or, at the very least, a rewarding experience.

Use the available resources mentioned earlier and to track down whoever your can, FIRST alums are hiding everywhere these days! I'd probably build the kit-bot chassis (a good, solid chassis for beginners) and keep your mechanisms simple and robust. The majority of the problems I've seen rookies have at competition aren't so much from lack of robot functionality, but rather lack of reliability.

And of course, pay attention to the other areas of team development, there could be a Rookie All-Star Award in your future which would be a nice boost for many successful years to follow.

Oh ya, check Chief Delphi every day!