Advice for Rookie You?

[EDesbiens]

Don't be affraid of trying new things... Even if people say you are crazy, even if you get insulted, even if it involves a lot of time and money, try it. You can't know if it'll work or not if you didn't try it yet.

[HelloRobot]

Okay, I have 2 thoughts on this:

As someone who participated in FRC for all 4 years of high school:
-Don't feel discouraged if you feel like you're not being included, especially during your first 1-2 years on the team. It's perfectly normal. With hard work and a positive attitude, you will be noticed and included.
-Go to stuff - meetings, outreach events, fund-raisers, build sessions, any team activity! You'll get to know your teammates better, and it's a great way to get more involved and stand out.
-I'm pretty sure this is a given, but always show respect for adults and leaders on your team. Follow their rules, listen to them when they are talking, and just be a good citizen.
-To get involved, become someone's (who is more experienced than you) "shadow." Start by asking if they can teach you how to [whatever they're working on]. Then, hang around. You may make a friend, gain experience, and be their replacement on the team after they graduate.
-Robotics is about what YOU make of it. Robotics can be the best thing you do for yourself.
-Sometimes, you will have to work without your besties, and that is okay.
-Put yourself "out there" and try new things. Does your team lack someone with CAD skills? Learn it! Does your team need some help fund-raising? Take initiative and help them out!
-Apply for FRC scholarships!
-Last but not least, SCHOOL COMES FIRST. Don't let your GPA slip because of Build Season. Plus, it may make robotics look bad to a teacher if suddenly all the robotics people let their grades fall in a certain class (true story). If you're highly involved in robotics, remember to balance robotics time with study time. I would also advise against taking the ACT or SAT during busy robotics times.

From a leadership perspective:
-Again, be present and be involved in team activities, especially if you are on a small team. Even if you're not at the center of the action, this shows your commitment and dedication to the team, which is looked upon positively in the eyes of a leader.
-Be your own person. Don't just be there because your friend or "bae" is. You both should be able to work independently and be productive.
-Once again, put yourself out there! It can be disheartening for a captain to see a lack of participation. It relieves some of our stress to know that others want to help us.

Robotics is wonderful, and I hope you enjoy your first year! Enjoy yourself, and the experience will be rewarding.

[Dwight_2]

Originally Posted by tjf

If you could go back in time, and tell yourself the most important thing you learned in all your time (or lack thereof) doing FRC / FIRST events.

What would you tell yourself?

(side note, I only ask because this is technically my first year doing FRC...)

To be Brutally honest last year my team struggled horribly with time management and organization which led to times of great distress, last year was our rookie year as a team so all I have to say is keep track of time, know where your stuff is, and be ready to do anything in a seconds notice. Because everything you've worked for can go down the drain pretty fast if you're not up to doing something.

[carpedav000]

I'd slap my past self in the face and tell him to do his homework. Also, dont try too hard to make friends (it'll happen on it's own) on the team and try to watch your language as much as possible (I had a pretty bad swearing problem my first year, and it had a tendancy to make people uncomfortable)

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by tjf

If you could go back in time, and tell yourself the most important thing you learned in all your time (or lack thereof) doing FRC / FIRST events.

What would you tell yourself?

(side note, I only ask because this is technically my first year doing FRC...)

You will kill your marriage.

[Dan Waxman]

I walked into FRC with a decent amount of programming knowledge, and ended up writing a very high volume of the code that was on the robot. However, while doing everything by myself, I admittedly did a very poor job of leading and distributing work. I also stuck to that stereotype of a programmer in a cave that can't hold a hammer right, and as a result still don't know a ton of mechanical skills, and the ones I did learn were all in a short period of time under less than ideal circumstances. So my advice for myself would be the following:

- Distribute the work. You have the technical knowledge, now gain the leadership skills and learn to act like a project lead instead of the only programmer.

- Branch out to other things as well. The code for the robot doesn't take very long to write, especially if you're working with multiple other programmers. Learning some mechanical skills and realize prototyping at the start of build season will only benefit you.