Team Organization and Recruiting

[Katie Reynolds]

Originally Posted by KathieK

Maybe a better question would be, how do you inspire a student to be a productive member of the team? And show up for meetings, contribute to the committees they have chosen to work on, not sleep through competitions, break team travel rules, not use the meetings for socializing with the members of the opposite gender?

While I agree that "belonging" to a team may be very important to a student, there are consequences in the real world for not performing on your job.

Some people join a FIRST team just because their friends did it. FIRST could work out great for the student's friends, but the program isn't for everybody. And while "peer pressure" may encourage some students to work harder, it could also keep students who really don't want to be involved, in.

Have you tried talking to the student(s)? Sometimes, students (especially rookies) goof off just to get noticed. I would imagine that rookie walking into a room if veteran FIRSTers and trying to present an idea is kind of like you or I walking into a room full of NASA scientists and giving them ideas for how to build their next space module (Quiet, Dave. ) The point is, rookie or not, FIRST can be very intimidating. And if there isn't anyone there to say, "Hey kid, what do you think?" or "I noticed you signed up for this committee, have you made any progress? Do you need any help?" it's more likely that some students will start slacking.

If people are still slacking off, only coming to meetings searching for a new boyfriend/girlfriend, or breaking travel rules make sure they know that there won't be much travel in the future for them unless their behavior changes. Usually, that'll make the kids who care try harder and the kids who are in it for a free ride, drop it.

[KathieK]

These have all been great suggestions. We had a "debriefing" meeting of the team last night and each team member had an opportunity to say something about this season. There were some recurring themes mentioned, which is very helpful for improving for next year.

This was RAGE's first year in a new committee structure, and we had a large team this year. We know better now what worked and what didn't and how we can move forward in a positive way.