Advice for a team that has lost its school

[Alpha Beta]

Originally Posted by TheOtherGuy

From hearsay, it appears that the school doesn't want to deal with financing a team whose budget is in the mid 5-digits, as the school is relatively small and most clubs require little resources. So, I do believe that with a little push, we could get our club reinstated with the school.

Our school has never provided us with 5 figure financial support. They do provide a minor stipend for 2 adults (less than a single season JV coach each) to help stabilize the teacher liaison and establish a chain of command for the school administration to work with. They have also been generous with bus transportation expenses and serve as a clearing house for some of the financial donations we receive. Most of the finances for the team come from corporate donations, grants, and student fundraising initiatives.

I'd stick with the school if you can bring in outside donations to finance the team. They are already a rallying point for the community and a recruiting platform for new members.

(Last year the school district did outlay a large amount of capital to provide a stable build facility the team could use year round. This only came after the team demonstrated stability, passion, and success for the program.)

Originally Posted by TheOtherGuy

My old FRC team is in their 8th year and now on their 5th teacher sponsor. Although they're still successful, I've noticed the well known teams have a consistent mentor/teacher base that enables them to be stable for much longer periods.

We had 4 different head coaches in our first 4 years. All of them are still supportive of the program, but for one reason or another needed to change their role or association with the team. The key for us was finding ways to spread out the responsibilities so that no 1 person got burned out and give people who are passionate in an area the autonomy to make that part of the program great. We've had the same head coach for 3 years in a row now and it does make a positive difference.