Why do teams voluntarily do FIRST without adult technical mentors?

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Originally Posted by Arefin Bari

The best team out there would be the team who understands the meaning of "Teamwork." When a group of students, engineers, teachers, and parents come together and makes sure that the students learn throughout the build season, it is the best feeling.

I think this is the best way to run a team. There are two things that really hurt when I am at a competition, one is the team with no teamwork, the mentors do everything or they do nothing. (I am shocked to find mentors pushing students away from the robot in the pits) They even refuse help from other teams. The whole team suffers no matter what the teamwork situation is.
The other thing is a student dominated team who is looking for assistance but doesn't know how to ask for help or is too embarrassed to ask either a mentor or another team. Often this team is suffering due to a minor problem. (i.e. a misaligned bearing, bad wiring or a code bug.) If I could get teams to pledge themselves to ask for help when needed (before or during competitions) then everyone would be better off.
My point is that you don't need mentors to make a good robot but it helps and the same could be said for students. However, when you work together, you can accomplish more and have a lot of fun too! Students, this may be the biggest oportunity you will ever get, take advantage of talking, learning, and working with your mentors.