Adult coach?

[Tom Bottiglieri]

Originally Posted by boiler

we don't mind rewarding our engineers.

I wouldn't say being a part of the competition team is a "reward" for a particular person. You should have people in those spots that give the highest chance of rewarding the entire team with success in the competition. Remember, there are many sub teams and disciplines that students concentrate on while participating on a team. The competition is more than likely the only thing they share as a unit.

While our team used a student coach this year, my stance on the issue is the field coach should be a very mature, well spoken, and intelligent individual who can handle immense amounts of stress. 99% of the time this will be a mentor, but there are always students who can fit the bill. Pushing a student or adult who does not show these qualities into the field coach position (or any other competition team position for that matter) is like putting a square peg in a round hole and will most likely bring up issues as the season goes along.