Starting New Teams

[jasoni]

Wayne, I think you might want to try an alternative approach to your hunt.

On your list of people to contact about starting a team at a school, I'd put administrators dead last. By and large, from the experience of the 3 teams I've been involved with, it's been an immensely difficult struggle to show administrators "the light". If it's not a sport, and it's not an art, it might as well be criminal behavior, because that's how you're going to be treated.

My advice, approach the school from the ground up. Get the names of teachers in the science and technology departments, and work them. Send them videotapes, call them, meet with them. I think a team will be far more successful if a teacher is the primary motivator rather than the administration.

You might see if some of your students might know students from that high school. That would be a true grass-roots effort.

One other approach, non-administrator oriented, you might want to try, is through the local chamber of commerce. They often have good contacts within a school, and might point you towards a more open-minded administrator or teacher.

And Wayne, is Team 25 planning on coming to our local competition in Mt. Olive in early November? I haven't seen the attendee list yet, but you guys aren't too far away.