[wendymom]

As everyone here has said, Yes you can do it without "professional" mentors. We have run for 5 years without a "professional Mechanical Engineer". We started with 4 college guys who had done FIRST in high school (one graduated, so now we have a "pro") and a team mom who cant even program her DVR. The college guys were a great resource, they knew all about how competitions went, how to market the team, how to judge whisper and everything else that goes along with running a team. We managed to win Rookie All Star and go to Champs our first year.

Everyone here on CD will jump at the chance to help you out if possible. Texas has some of the best teams in the country and some of the nicest mentors to boot. They will give you hand whenever possible.

Remember it's not all about the robot. If you look at the awards list you will notice that 2/3rds of them have nothing to do with the actual robot. Just have fun, be goofy, don't panic and if you make it to a regional (even with a box of parts) all the teams will help you out.