I've got a dying team and really need some assistance.

[Eternity_Soap]

To make a relatively long story short, my team was nearly dealt a deathblow this year. At the beginning of the build season, my coach was forced to take a leave of absence, such that he could no longer hold any contact with the team. He was the one who managed the teams finances, as well as the only one around who had real experience working with FIRST and knew the procedure regarding activities like bagging and tagging. Additionally, he was the team's only connection to our high school. This alone nearly sunk us, as the high school administration was not exactly willing to let the team go and compete without anyone from the school. We were saved by the fact that we are technically a neighborhood team, as we have some kids from a nearby private school. Throughout the rest of the build season we were in a frantic rush to complete a robot and figure everything out. We ended up having a parent step in to coach. She had no engineering experience that she could offer us, meaning that we, for the most part, had to trust our amateur engineering skills. The result was... interesting. As one might expect the robot wasn't ultra high performance (as a matter of fact it failed miserably and sometimes hilariously), but we still scraped by at two regional competitions.

Now that they are both over, it is time to think to the future. To make matters slightly worse, we're a bit short on members. As mentioned previously, we have no adult mentors remaining either, and the parent that took over for this year understandably has no intention of doing the same next year. Being a high school senior this year, I don't have very long to act. I believe that I've got three problems to tackle: Finding new team mentors, acquiring new sponsors, and recruitment/retention.

My team is located on Florida's space coast, and as such I would think that the opportunities for mentors/sponsorship from local aerospace companies would be abundant. The problem is I really do not know how to go about this. My coach was the one that would handle the acquisition of sponsors and grants, and I myself am relatively new to FIRST. This is where I seek help. I originally posted this on the FRC subreddit, and was pointed here by members who said that I might find more credible advice from the experienced FIRST guys around here. Additionally, I've actually got an appointment with my principle to try and make a case for the team the coming Monday. If anyone has any ideas with respect to preparation in this regard, I am all ears.

[Sperkowsky]

Ill help you guys in any way you need. Whether this is through engineering advice or sponsorship advice. Pm me or email me sperkowsky@bethpageeagles.ws and we can try to setup a video call to work out all your issues. I have personally been in situations like this and know how to get out of them.

[ctt956]

Contact the aerospace companies, and any other company you can think of. Even if they're not engineering/technology/robotics related. You might be surprised! Just go to their websites and email or call them. Explain what FIRST is and what you do, and the situation with your team. Assuming you're in need of a new build space, ask them if they have any space you can use or know of anything. Advertise your team. If you're going from a school team to a community team, advertise in schools and wherever anyone who is remotely interested may be. Post it on social media, and have your friends and family pass it on. If there are any tech related events nearby, contact the organizers/whoever is in charge and see if you can demonstrate your robot there. Demos are always good for recruiting students, mentors, and sponsors. Try to get on the local news. Anything else you can think of to spread the word.

[EricH]

Call the other "local" team with 233 in their number and see if they can help you navigate some of these issues--including mentoring (it's not uncommon for teams to mentor each other, even years after the rookie year).

And yes, I am referring to The Pink Team.

[Madison]

Contact the Senior Mentor for Florida.

http://www.firstinspires.org/sites/d...entor-bios.pdf

Andrew Milluzzi
amilluzzi@usfirst.org

They are in a better position to help your team than anyone here.

[Eternity_Soap]

Thanks for the advice, everyone. I'll use it to present a plan to my principle to revive the team. With any luck, he'll give me the green light and I can execute something.

[C.Lesco]

Make sure you check your private messages, Im sure a few people have sent you some advice there as well, and good luck!

[Masterchi45]

Hey, sorry to hear about this. First of all, talk to your school administrative team and/or Board of Trustees/Board of Ed. These will be your golden people. They will be able to allocate funds and arrange for a teacher to help out. If they do not cooperate about it, annoy them about it a bit. Talk to EVERY TEACHER YOU CAN. Try to get them to support you. Set up a schedule for them. (ie Monday- Mr. Smith, Tuesday- Mrs. Jones) Do this, so that they do not get overwhelmed by the time dedication. Email all parents and ask for donations and mentorship. They might own a restaurant and have leftovers at the end of the day and they could give you that food to eat. This could help with food costs. Like this you could get old schools For mentors, cold call ALL LOCAL BUSINESSES. Even $50 is something. If it like a realtor, ask for around $250, but say anything is acceptable. Alongside, ask them for mentors. Another thing, call ALL MILLING/ARCHITECTURE/ENGINEERING COMPANIES within a 50 mile radius. Ask them for mentors or sponsorship, maybe both. Tell them about your current situation and ask if they could help in any way: mentors, gifts in kind (pieces, raw materials, tools, etc. If you need any help, my email is shahc@students.spprep.org. I am the Business Lead of Team 5438 in jersey City, NJ. I would be more than happy to help with anything. If you need any resources or anything, let us know. Good Luck!

[thunderbotsgirl]

Hey! My team is actually a community team so we draw students from all over the greater Los Angeles area and have had problems with recruiting students and sponsors in the past, but recently, we created a 3-year strategic plan and have successfully exceeded our goals for the end of year one. You are in luck because I happen to have been a big part of that plan. If you would like, email me at kaitlyn.waldman@gmail.com and I would be more than happy to assist you and your team in creating a sustainable plan for your upcoming season. Since you are cross country, helping out with mentors may be challenging for us, but if you need any assistance, my mentors love helping other teams.

[nrensing]

Your school's PTA/PTO may be able to help with dealing with the school administration and with fundraising. They also may also be able to help you identify parents who can mentor or at least help recruit other mentors.

[philso]

duplicated post

[philso]

Originally Posted by EricH

Call the other "local" team with 233 in their number and see if they can help you navigate some of these issues--including mentoring (it's not uncommon for teams to mentor each other, even years after the rookie year).

And yes, I am referring to The Pink Team.

Please note that 233 will be competing in Houston this weekend so they might not reply right away. There are other very accomplished teams in Florida such as 179 who are south of you.

We hope you are successful in keeping your team alive.

[gblake]

Some folks are giving advice that assumes you want/have to be associated with a school and/or have "your" school faculty involved in your team.

Being connected to a school can be very helpful (and occasionally isn't), but don't get tunnel vision.

Operating under an umbrella supplied by Scouting's Venture program, 4H, Boys & Girls Clubs, a homebrew 501C3, a local business, etc. are all perfectly fine alternatives to being a school team.

Florida's Exploding Bacon team might have some good advice to offer.

Blake
PS: Consider switching to FTC/VEX for a year or two if sustaining the FRC team turns out to be too hard. Again, avoid tunnel vision.

[GreyingJay]

Lots of great advice here.

Mine would be to add that anything is possible - as long as there are people to drive toward it. Mentors are the long term memory of any FRC team since students must come and go. Build spaces, sponsorships, money, tools, all of that comes when students and mentors go searching for it.

So your absolute #1 priority is finding mentors.

If you want to pursue the school connection, obviously you want to ask teachers to become involved. But you also have a community connection. Be sure to take advantage of that. Your students' parents are the first and obvious choice. Appeal to them for their help and support. I would say half of the mentors on our team are parents of team members.

Find places to show off what you've done and recruit potential new mentors. Offer to bring your team and your robot to any company that has sponsored you. Appeal to the employees to join your team.

Build a base of mentors who are willing to help do the work behind the scenes. As you've seen, it's a lot of work and it really shouldn't be left to one person. Get a core group of adults together who will commit to keeping the team going.

[sportzkrazzy]

Originally Posted by Eternity_Soap

To make a relatively long story short, my team was nearly dealt a deathblow this year. At the beginning of the build season, my coach was forced to take a leave of absence, such that he could no longer hold any contact with the team. He was the one who managed the teams finances, as well as the only one around who had real experience working with FIRST and knew the procedure regarding activities like bagging and tagging. Additionally, he was the team's only connection to our high school. This alone nearly sunk us, as the high school administration was not exactly willing to let the team go and compete without anyone from the school. We were saved by the fact that we are technically a neighborhood team, as we have some kids from a nearby private school. Throughout the rest of the build season we were in a frantic rush to complete a robot and figure everything out. We ended up having a parent step in to coach. She had no engineering experience that she could offer us, meaning that we, for the most part, had to trust our amateur engineering skills. The result was... interesting. As one might expect the robot wasn't ultra high performance (as a matter of fact it failed miserably and sometimes hilariously), but we still scraped by at two regional competitions.

Now that they are both over, it is time to think to the future. To make matters slightly worse, we're a bit short on members. As mentioned previously, we have no adult mentors remaining either, and the parent that took over for this year understandably has no intention of doing the same next year. Being a high school senior this year, I don't have very long to act. I believe that I've got three problems to tackle: Finding new team mentors, acquiring new sponsors, and recruitment/retention.

My team is located on Florida's space coast, and as such I would think that the opportunities for mentors/sponsorship from local aerospace companies would be abundant. The problem is I really do not know how to go about this. My coach was the one that would handle the acquisition of sponsors and grants, and I myself am relatively new to FIRST. This is where I seek help. I originally posted this on the FRC subreddit, and was pointed here by members who said that I might find more credible advice from the experienced FIRST guys around here. Additionally, I've actually got an appointment with my principle to try and make a case for the team the coming Monday. If anyone has any ideas with respect to preparation in this regard, I am all ears.

Our business team is one of the best in Brevard. We have won multiple awards for it too. If you need help setting up a framework for next year that will last you for many years to come just pm me and we can get a meeting set up between your lead members and ours. I am on the robot side so I may be able to help there. We will do everything we can to keep a first team alive.

Just let me know,
Zac