Having a Hard Time Getting Members Involved

[Storcky]

Originally Posted by JaneYoung

You are receiving some excellent advice in this thread.

One thing that I haven't seen yet that I'd like to contribute is the value of the postmortem. That is a time that the team meets to evaluate the season. Everyone comes prepared with ideas and suggestions of what went well, what didn't go well, and what can be improved upon. Someone is charge of writing down all the pros/cons/needs for improvement on the white board. Then we divide it into sections: robot, Chairmans, Spirit, Safety, etc. We can get a little loosey goosey and start crossing over into sections so our teacher keeps us on track and in one section at a time. If they cross or mix, we make sure to note that further discussion is needed.

There should be plenty of time allotted for this meeting. If it has to end before the postmortem is completed, schedule another time to finish it. Then, next year, make use of the suggestions. Learn from what you have just achieved and implement it.

Although if your postmortem is too lengthy, team members may just look at it and get scared. This is speaking from experience. Last year, after our final competition, I came up with a 5 page list on my own of stuff that we could improve on, a lot of which was impractical. The rest of the team just kind of stared when I brought it up and it became infamously known as "The List"

[Brandon Holley]

This is by no means an unheard of problem.

The thing is, you and the other 2 students who are dong 95% of the work are probably motivated, "wide eyed and bushy tailed" kids who really want to get involved and get to work.

Some students feel intimidated by the task of building a robot. When others are around who even LOOK LIKE they know what they are doing, people get nervous about embarrassing themselves.

Motivation is a funny thing. Some people have it right off the bat, and some people take a long time to find it (and may never find it). I know from my experience, getting people to competitions definitely helps. A lot of the kids that have seem kind of un-excited have got "bitten by the bug" at even small vex competitions. The key is to get them involved. Ask them to help out with stuff and guide them along the way. Show them its not that bad, and that even people who are completely unexperienced can contribute.

One final note...theres a quote that says "Without a sense of urgency,dersire loses its value. " ---Over the "off-season" it is imperative that you keep interest alive. While team members may have finally gotten interested during the saturday of your last regional, it is a LONG LONG time before you start building a new robot again. Doing things like vex-bots, or even off-season projects definitely keep the interest up and may even help you recruit new motivated people to the team.

hope it helps

brando