What to know?

[D.Allred]

Originally Posted by tsf

Thanks! We're in South Florida and we have 12 students and 2 mentors at the moment.

What I was wondering is that what fundamentals should we have nailed down before we meet with our mentoring team? What are we expected to know, or what should we be able to do before we have our mentoring session, as a team?

Welcome to FIRST! I'm glad to hear you have another team to mentor you during the season. That will be critical to your success since you appear to have no previous robotics or FIRST exposure.

Here's what I suggest you do before meeting with your mentoring team.
- Read the 2014 Administrative Manual and develop a list of questions. Logistics of an FRC team can be complicated.
- List ALL of your basic assets. Your mentoring team can help you prioritize gaps. Your basic assets would include money, space, materials, and mentor / parent skills.

Here's the key asset questions I would ask if we were helping your team.
- What is your source of funds and budget for regional entry fees, robot parts & materials, and team travel?
- Where is your build and team meeting space?
- What tools are available for building the robot?
- What are the skills and background of the mentors?
- What is your schedule and team meeting times for the build season?

My robot advice is the same for all new teams.
- Build the drive base in the kit of parts first before you build anything else. Get it wired, programmed and driving immediately.

Good luck!
David