Alumni Mentoring a rookie team... advice?

[Oblarg]

Originally Posted by Nikki Haux

I am a college sophomore who was on an experienced FRC team for 3 years (10+ years old team). I've been helping with my old team for the last 6 months, but have recently decided to help with a brand new team closer to my university.

I'm looking for advice on how to transition and how to best help my new team succeed in their rookie year, however that might look for them.

Thanks in advance,

Chloe

I was in your exact situation last year.

The biggest thing you can do is take stock of the resources you have, and make sure that the team designs and builds within their means. Being realistic about what you can accomplish is the first (and most important) step to success.

Past this, there's currently a rookie advice thread in the technical discussion forum with lots of very good recommendations that you should read through.

If at all possible, before build season, reach out to a local team and try to get access to a practice drive base so that the students can become familiar with FRC hardware before the season starts. Make sure that the electronics team knows how the control system works, especially. One of the biggest causes of rookie struggles is spending precious build season time learning things which could have been mastered beforehand - you're going to need every bit of that time to work on the robot.