Rookie Mentor for 2016, help?

[sunny69]

Dear new FRC friends,

I am going to be a rookie mentor for a rookie team this year (sorry I don't know the number off hand) and I would really appreciate advice from veteran mentors about learning experiences they had, so that hopefully I can avoid at least the most common mentoring mistakes.

I'm not very technically minded, so if anyone has suggestions for other ways that I could contribute, I would appreciate that as well. (however, I do weld, and I know how to run a drill press, band-saw, sander, mill, etc.)

Also, I've tried to look this up, but I have not found a clear answer. Do mentors go with the students to competitions?

Thanks so much for your help!

[Mark Sheridan]

Originally Posted by sunny69

Dear new FRC friends,

I am going to be a rookie mentor for a rookie team this year (sorry I don't know the number off hand) and I would really appreciate advice from veteran mentors about learning experiences they had, so that hopefully I can avoid at least the most common mentoring mistakes.

I'm not very technically minded, so if anyone has suggestions for other ways that I could contribute, I would appreciate that as well. (however, I do weld, and I know how to run a drill press, band-saw, sander, mill, etc.)

Also, I've tried to look this up, but I have not found a clear answer. Do mentors go with the students to competitions?

Thanks so much for your help!

You should get in touch with your local senior mentor:
http://www.firstinspires.org/node/4436

Idaho does not appear to have one, but this list should suffice. Ours is Richard Sisk, he keeps us out of trouble.

[EricH]

Originally Posted by sunny69

Also, I've tried to look this up, but I have not found a clear answer. Do mentors go with the students to competitions?

I'll start with this one: YES.

At the regional events, mentors are needed by their teams as chaperones, extra manpower, and whatever else they are normally needed as. Also, usually of the four operators of the robot, one is allowed to be an adult mentor. (There is some debate about the merits and demerits of that allowance, but that's for another time and place--it's legal, and as a rookie team, you will want to use that.) A mentor is required for certain things--like registration at the event (just to be clear, that's more like "Hi, we're here, please give us the information packet that you have for us") and signing off on your robot's inspection form (saying that "Yes, we built this per the rules" after all the other stuff has been checked off).


Your tool-operating skill will probably be one of the most valuable things you can contribute to the team, second only to your presence in the shop and your training of others (read: students) on those machines.

[GeeTwo]

At this point, a great use of your time would be to read the administrative manual, which is already posted on firstinspires. The answers to many of your questions are there. Many more are here on CD - use the search function (OBTW, if you log in you can skip the CAPTCHA questions). For others, ask your senior mentor, other mentors in your area, or post a new thread here on CD.

The most important things a team needs are (some will argue with the order):

• Student team members
• Money/sponsors
• Build site/equipment
• Mentors

I listed mentors last because you obviously already have one. Note that FIRST requires both a primary and an alternate, and the more mentors you have (especially if they have different skill sets), the better, both in terms of managing/inspiring/teaching the team and in sustainability. For your first year, if you can have one mentor focus on logistics and admin and the other on the technical side (but with overlap), you'll do much better than if either of you tries to do everything. (In future years you should spread the jobs even farther.) Teams at 10:1 or worse student:mentor often have high mentor burnout; teams with a 6:1 or better ratio of "full time" mentors are much more sustainable.

[rsisk]

You don't say what part of ID you are from, but see if there is a nearby team that can help the team. Here is a list of ID teams

ID Teams

In FRC, the mentor/student relationship is a partnership, not just a coaching job. You should get in there with the students and collaborate and learn together as a team. Especially in your rookie year.

There are tons of resources both on the FIRST web site and here on CD. Be sure to keep an eye on both places.

Rookie year means build within your available resources. The KOP drivetrain you will receive is an excellent and competitive drive train. Use it, you will then have more time to spend on the manipulator portion of your robot. Believe me, you will need that time.

Make sure you know what you are building before you start building it. Take time now and review this priceless presentation by JVN on the Engineering Design Process with the team. You'll be glad you did.
Engineering Design Process.

Finally, don't hesitate to ask questions. FIRST is full of very smart people willing to offer advice.

good luck!

Edit: Only two rookie teams in ID, 5871 from Boise and 5931 from Nampa which is close to Boise. Both Boise and Nampa have veteran rookie teams. Let me know if you need help contacting them.

[snoman]

You have a " tims" account right? You have registered for your regional? How many students do you have.? How many other adult helpers? What facilities? Sponsors?
How much time can you commit ?
I don't want to sound overwhelming but.. private message me and I can send you some links. Most of all is research to get up to speed. This site is good and I have others. Check out the media part of the site. Here is one our team did to get you startedhttp://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/3173

[RonnyV]

When I started my team I found the toolkit from Team Rush quite handy!
http://www.teamrush27.net/sites/defa..._MAR2013sm.pdf

It's a big document with lots and lots of information.
And if you're looking for some external help from a team during buildseason, while having software issues etc. feel free to contact me. Or ask the help from CD!

Sometimes it's just easier to have some personal contacts where you can rely on and skype if needed.

[GeeTwo]

Originally Posted by rsisk

You don't say what part of ID you are from, but see if there is a nearby team that can help the team.

Yes, yes! Many veteran teams would love to have a rookie team to mentor - a "team mentoring" relationship strengthens both the mentor team and the protegee team. (and it looks good on a Chairman's submission, too). We're mentoring two rookie teams this year, and we're having more difficulty getting them to engage than we are getting our own team members to engage. It's hard to believe, but the support that the FIRST community provides to each other is better than many communities of faith and some families.

[marshall]

Originally Posted by sunny69

sorry I don't know the number off hand

First thing first, learn your team's number.

Next, get in touch with other team's close to you. I have no idea where you are located but find other teams in your area and start talking to them now.

This might help too, it's the mentoring guide from FIRST: http://www.firstinspires.org/sites/d...ring-guide.pdf

[EricH]

By the way, I would like to add in one thing that I forgot earlier. And that is something that everybody--veteran, rookie, mentor, student--should do:

Read the Manual. All of it.

GeeTwo already pointed you in the right direction--the Admin Manual is posted, while the Game Manual should be up in encrypted form next week. Some of the items in the Admin Manual are very, very valuable to know--for instance, what awards you may be eligible for so you can plan ahead, or how to use the robot lockup form. When the Game Manual comes out, start by reading the rules there and noting things that are absolute--like size/weight constraints--and plan ahead to deal with those (by building slightly undersize and about 20 lbs underweight).

I generally suggest that rookies start by building the kit robot--this gives them both instructions and practice, and a decent drivetrain to build on top of.

Oh, and remember to HAVE FUN. (And those 6 weeks will disappear really really fast.)

[Billfred]

Originally Posted by marshall

First thing first, learn your team's number.

Next, get in touch with other team's close to you. I have no idea where you are located but find other teams in your area and start talking to them now.

This might help too, it's the mentoring guide from FIRST: http://www.firstinspires.org/sites/d...ring-guide.pdf

These two things are crucial--a support system with other teams makes all the teams better. (If nothing else, you may just need another adult doing the same ridiculous thing to have a beverage with.)

Also: Make sure you have comfortable safety glasses and a pop riveter. In 13 seasons and 15 robots, my teams have welded twice (and one of those was to make the frame before the modern kitbot even existed). Riveting allows for faster repairs in the pits, which is handy when you only have 20 minutes between matches and any welding work has to go through the machine shop (which may or may not be on the venue grounds).

Know your parts sources: AndyMark and VEXpro are the 800-pound gorillas in FRC-specific items, and odd mechanical bits can be found from a number of sources (I like McMaster-Carr, but that's partially because their warehouse in Atlanta gives me next-day delivery if I order before lunch.) And go ahead and walk the aisles of your nearest hardware store, so you know where everything is. That includes the plumbing (PVC pipe is a magical thing), the angle and flat metal rack, the nuts and bolts (and rivets, because you bought the riveter), the spray paint (if you can paint, you should), and the tools. McMaster is probably cheaper, especially in larger quantities, but sometimes you have to have it that night.

Read the manual completely. Read the email blasts completely. Ask questions if you're unsure.

Get the kit drivetrain running by the end of Week 1, at least in prototype form. Ballast it up to the weight limit, and start practicing on carpet (or whatever the field surfaces may be). Yes, carpet vs. slick school hallway makes a difference. Figure out who has the knack for it, and get them driving as much as possible. I'm fortunate to have been a part of five regional wins over the years, and none of them was as a first- or second-round pick. Save for one time where we were drafted in as a replacement for a broken team, there was a common thread: our guys could drive the freakin' wheels off. (Literally, in one case.)

Start on bumpers early, both making sure your mechanisms clear them (screwed that up once) and making sure they look good. True story, some teams will scout in part off the build quality of your bumpers. (If you sweated the details on them, you probably sweated other details on your robot. If they look crappy, where else did you cut corners?)

Buy a couple more batteries and at least a second battery charger. You'll want them. If you've got budget room, my team and many others are fans of the Battery Beak to monitor battery health and charge state. A healthy battery alone will not win you a match, but a dead battery is a great way to lose a match.

For overall strategy, I'll end on this: Accept that there is winning, there is getting beat, and there is losing. Don't lose.

[GreyingJay]

Advice for newbie mentors, eh? I can help there! It was just about one year ago that I rolled up to my local FLL regional to be a robot design judge, saw the local FRC team demoing their robot in the hallway, and said "oh cool, do you need any volunteers?" I didn't even know the correct term was mentor yet.

So all in 2015: My first build season, my first regional competition, my second regional competition, my first trip to Worlds! I won the team's "mentor of the year" award, and now I'm the alternate lead mentor for my own community FRC team! What a difference a year makes.

So, lessons learned, from my own experience and observation:

1. Read the manuals. Know what to expect. There is a LOT to learn, both with the nuances of each year's games, the rules, and the format of build season, competitions, regionals, etc. in general.

2. Assuming you have students on the team who have done FRC before, don't be afraid to ask them questions about how it works. It's not a sign of weakness for the adult to ask the student questions. Take their answers with a grain of salt, but ask for their opinions and their stories. It's good to get to know the students and let them know you're an approachable person.

3. Adults are typically much better at situational awareness than students. Especially when working with power tools, pay attention to things like good or bad techniques, forgetting safety glasses, distractions, horseplay.

4. It's tempting to say "no no, you're doing it wrong". Sometimes that's legitimate - a safety hazard for example. But when possible, phrase in such a way that it is constructive teaching rather than criticism, which students are hyper-sensitive to. "Can I show you how to do that so it works a lot more effectively?" (The corollary is: ARE they doing it wrong? There's the way YOU were taught, but are there other ways that are acceptable?)

5. It is also tempting to tell the students the answers. "We need to do it this way." Is there a way you can get the students to come up with the answer, and you guide them along? You might even be surprised. I often would try to guide the programming students toward X, and one bright student would say "oh, so we should do Y!" and I would stop and go "... Wow. You're right. I was going to say X, but Y is even better!"

6. Praise often, but don't fake it. Students see right through false praise. Some students love being praised often, others feel embarrassed and self conscious, or might be struggling with self confidence and self worth issues and think that you're making it all up. Don't stop praising those students, but make sure they know you're talking about real, measurable things. "You're awesome!" can be debatable in someone's mind. "That's a really clever design you came up with!" is not.

7. As part of your situational awareness, try to be aware of group dynamics and personalities within them. There's loud and bold, there's shy and introverted. There are different skill levels and experience levels. It's got to be tough to be that shy introverted kid who is new to the team and thinks she knows nothing (or has ideas but thinks nobody will listen). Look out for those students and find ways to help them open up, either by spending time with them, giving them a voice for their ideas to be heard, etc.

8. Have fun! Learn! It's not just for the students!

[sunny69]

Thank you to all of you for your super advice. I really appreciate your taking the time to answer. I think I got all of my questions answered (at least for now )

Happy New Year's Eve!

[3132MentorMike]

G'day!

Greetings from the Australia......

A couple of high level things to consider....

1. Build philosophy - FRC has quite a bit of latitude in what mentors do versus what students do. Make sure you and your mentoring crew think through how you want to go about this so that you are giving your students opportunities to "up-skill" during build season, the year as a whole, and year-on-year. This extends to drive coach, and the non-robot/build aspects of your team as well.

2. Sustainability - Think about how you are going to build a program so that your older students get replaced by younger students, how you get your next batch of younger students, your mentoring crew, your sponsors, ......

All the best with your rookie season!

[jaunvie]

Don't forget teams need alot more than just "technical" help. There are business things like fundraising, food, transportation, shirts, awards submissions, organization, spirit supplies (like buttons, flags, standards, signs for cheering, ect.) mascots, outreach, safety, and a lot more. Don't overlook the need for leadership in these areas or your team will end up rushing at the end and not have the quality you would like for these things.
As a rookie team it can be difficult to get the robot finished and all of these other things too. But leadership (mentor) can help to make sure these things are not forgotten and can remind the team in what time frame they need to be done.
You don't need alot of "technical" robotics skill to do these things. Look at the everyday skills you have and see how they fit. I am one of several mentors the kids call their "crafty" mentors. This is my second year mentoring. I was amazed at how well my skill-set fit into First. Even though I'm not anything close to an engineer, I found that I have a great number of skills that not only fit but made my own self confidence soar.
Maybe try not to "fit" into a mentor roll, but instead take a step back and look at where the team could use a little more leadership and help and see if you can fill that need. Try to focus on things you would enjoy showing others how to do. Or if you're the type of person who just likes to get a project and do it themselves, try to focus on things you may not have enough students to do. (The first year it's usually hard to have enough students to work on the robot and do everything else too. )