FRC team crisis - any suggestions?

[DaveL]

A simple email or face to face discussion that starts with: "I'm very happy that even with the loss of our previous lead mentors, the team will continue with new leadership. I appreciate that you are willing to step up to the plate! I saw the new schedule for this year and I see that it is very different compared to previous years. I'm curious to discuss why some things are changing so that I can better understand your point of view on things and would like to contribute in any way I can to help make sure this team stays healthy, vibrant and continues to serve students long into the future."

John's quote is really well written. I would use these words and a non-negative attitude to start your discussion.

The top issue that I see with your team is cooperative decision making.

I would recommend defining the decisions the students should make.
Then get acceptance from your Coach.
Next, have an open discussion about what your team believes will make a successful season, then discuss the Coach's availability and any other issues that might limit your desired season activities.

Once you know where you want to go and what are the potential roadblocks, the team can then start to brainstorm ways to work within these limitations.

After you iron out the high level issues, then you can approach the more detailed issues; like how to educate the team. It took my team some time to decide hands-on-training is the only way to keep the students interested.

Instead of a lecture, I now wait for that moment during a build session when a mechanism is being constructed to ask, how fast should something rotate? Then we can have a discussion about torque and transmission ratios.

Dave
Build Mentor