Exploring The 'We're All Winners' Concept

[techtiger1]

I would like to start off by saying this is an EPIC thread/ discussion.
FIRST in my opinion has always done a great job at making everyone see themselves as a winner . I mean every year I see that completed robot on the field scoring points and getting cheered for it makes me feel like I am a winner. This is just for the students. From a mentor perspective we get to see shy, timid high school kids become leaders in there community and that folks is where we really are winning. As a matter of fact I would trade all of my regional wins in for more students who are interested, want to learn and being able to attract great mentors to the team. This too many is how you know you are a winner not winning the event. How many people did your team impact this year. Now breaking off into a entirely different direction another lesson learned in FIRST is that to be "winners" you need to work hard, learn as much as you can and realize everything is not fair but you need to work with what you have. Invaluable real world experience if you ask me because becoming a "winner" doesn't happen overnight it takes a lot of hard work and dedication. Ask any of the veteran teams at the top of their game right now it wasn't handed to them. In conclusion, I feel FIRST has a very good balance on this subject and in the end they do make everyone feel like winners.