What makes a "Powerhouse"?

[El Geffe]

It's the attitude and drive of a team that make them a powerhouse.

I guess that's what I'm asking; how do you change the attitude of a team, who's members lack commitment and dedication?

[EricH]

Originally Posted by El Geffe

I guess that's what I'm asking; how do you change the attitude of a team, who's members lack commitment and dedication?

The dedicated members need to spread that dedication around.

You can always try this: You have 30 students to start a season.

Start with an offseason project. I don't think you guys have a T-shirt shooter yet, so that might be a good start. It'll get some interest, and teach newer members the basics of building a robot. It'll also weed out the team members that don't want to do that sort of thing--they can try other aspects (fundraising, for example). My personal guess is that you'll probably end up with about 15 "robot" students and 5 "non-robot" students who still have some idea of what's going on.

Then transition to the main robot with whoever's still around.

Oh, and the food at meetings should work, too.

[artdutra04]

Originally Posted by El Geffe

I agree. My team hasn't had over 7 active members in the last three years. We start the off-season will almost thirty, but somehow they loose interest and we end up with a tiny but efficient team.

Any specific suggestions for keeping them hooked till build-season?

After the start of the new school year, we always attend at least two FRC offseason events, run two or three VRC teams and four or five Savage Soccer teams, in addition to any business/community outreach efforts.

[El Geffe]

Hmmmm. Both the off-season FRC events and the off-season project sound like excellent ideas.
Do inner-team robotic competitions work out well? The FRC team is split into 2-4 smaller teams. Each team then has to build a robot to compete in a mock challenge against the others.

[DonRotolo]

Originally Posted by El Geffe

Any specific suggestions for keeping them hooked till build-season?

Give them something interesting and useful to do.

[Chris is me]

Shaker didn't do offseason events this fall and we didn't have nearly the level of engaged students everyone was used to.

Get them to competition early and they'll be hooked.

[rcmolloy]

Powerhouses, in general, are teams that have students that are committed to spending countless hours on something until it is where they want it. These students never give up on themselves and they are always trying to learn something new. Also, students, like myself, that are so passionate and show leadership have a great influence around them. They bring up everyone to a level that surpasses what any lone individual could attain themselves.

In no way is my team a powerhouse but we're striving to compete among the top competitors and in my opinion that's a start.

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by rcmolloy

In no way is my team a powerhouse but we're striving to compete among the top competitors and in my opinion that's a start.

It definitely is. There's a reason for the quote in my signature from JVN from a private conversation. Never stop striving to increase your inputs (resources) and your outputs (your product). Anything less really is a cop-out.

As long as your work ethic towards betterment is there, I believe any team can become a powerhouse.

Teams who I have watched within the last 3 years do these things: 973, 1323, 816, 2791, 1771 just to name a few have been constantly improving themselves.

It is also why I love Adam Heard's slogan "Outwork Us"

Its very inspiring when you see a team never quit and keep increasing their inputs and outputs.

[rcmolloy]

To add to that Stogi, I have heard a similar quote from my coaches and life coaches in football and it should add to the same premise here. Here's my spin on it.

Ordinary people rarely make a difference when it comes down to something. It's the people who strive to do something unordinary and never settle with the fact that something is perfect until it is.

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

Shaker didn't do offseason events this fall and we didn't have nearly the level of engaged students everyone was used to.

Get them to competition early and they'll be hooked.

It can really be any type of competition.

Team 11 did this over the summer. http://www.pumpkinsling.com/ And it has had a very obvious impact on their 2011 craftsmanship, design abilities, and teamwork from what I have seen so far from the design team.