[EricH]

I think the first thing to do is to find out what they do/don't know about practical electronics. A lot of stuff can be theoretical, but without some basic practical knowledge, theory doesn't necessarily translate into happy assembly/repair technicians. Then you deal with what they don't know, or need more practice in.

As far as the rabbit trails/illegal stuff area, start out by having them read a few sections of the rules. For example, maybe not the entire robot section, but anything to do with the electronics. Maybe not the arena section or the tournament section, but the game section should be required reading.

Other than that, going to a competition.