New Head Coach to existing team

[rsisk]

I don't think there is a solution for #2

Become good friends with experienced teams near you.

The longer I am in FIRST, the more I realize this is not a challenge for individual heros.

[holygrail]

First of all Congrats on the new role. It is a big, but very rewarding job. All of the other posts are excellent advice, but in the end, it all depends on how much you want to take on and the level of experience, expertise, and resources your team has.

I was in almost the exact same situation last year...New coach with a young inexperienced team. Thankfully the previous coach had done a great job helping me get set up for success. My advice, set reachable and attainable goals as a team. Don't bite off more than you can effectively organize and plan for, and do those things well. Delegate the stuff that you can to others. As for the paperwork, just get a good calendar and make sure to read the email blasts. It isn't as bad as you think.

I have a bunch of documents, tips and tricks I leaned the hard way last year that I would be happy to send your way. Just pm me.

[AlecMataloni]

Congrats on the new position!
I'd love to send you a wall of text but i'm away from wifi right now. A few things:

Rick mentioned team 1114's resources. If you haven't already looked at 1114's website, please head there. They have loads of helpful information. If you haven't watched Karthik's Effective FIRST strategies presentation, it's on there too. If anything, it will teach you the importance of setting team goals. I highly recommend it.

Also, I can get you in contact with a few of our adult mentors if you'd like. Just PM me.

[MysterE]

Hi,

Being a coach is a hard but fulfilling job. Someone on this board recommended a book to me that I'd like to recommend to you. Read "Tribal Leadership". It is pretty amazing and offers some great insights at how to run an organization such as an FRC team. You can find a free audio version here: http://about.zappos.com/tribal and a TED video from one of the authors: http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/dav...eadership.html

Good luck - the rewards are more than worth the effort.

[DBortnick]

I've got a lot of work to do looking at the websites and different resources available online. I will probably be pming some of you with individual questions about the things you posted if they arise.

Thanks for all the feedback!

[uboat]

A couple of great resources that helped me out when I first got started are
- NEMO (Non-Engineering Mentor Organization). http://www.firstnemo.org/
- Team 365's MOEmentum. http://moe365.org/moementum/moementum.php

I mentor team 1781 at Lindblom Math and Science Academy which is not far from you. I'd be more that happy to provide any assistance. Also as Taylor mentioned earlier we are attending the CAGE match in Indy on 10/20.

[Chi Meson]

Need Parents Help

repeat

Need Parents Help

Insist on meeting the parents of each member; tell them what to expect in terms of time, fees, dedication, etc. Get as much help as possible from parents in carpools, food, arrangements and (big time) sponsorships or corporate-matched personal donations.