Quote:
Originally Posted by GalacticNights
1.) Has your mentor/coach dropped off the radar unexpectedly for family/personal reasons, and if so how did you get help to keep the team going?
2.) Have you been behind/procrastinating during the build season before? How was it fixed and stopped?
3.) Would you suggest reaching out to local teams for help?
4.) If you have had horrible communication in the past, how was it fixed?
Thanks for reading.
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1. Team 4050 has been fortunate enough to have 12+ mentors to help with overall team leadership. Of those mentors, only a few are directly involved with the build, and the rest are administrative mentors/chaperones. It helps that we are not a school-based team, we are able to pull many mentors who are parents or members of the community. I would look in the offseason to see if your able to recruit non-teachers/faculty as mentors for your team. It takes a lot of people to run a FRC Team, and it definitely helps to have mentors to take care of administrative duties and the like.
2. Our team has never been where we wanted to be at a certain point during build season, yet we always seem to pull through during the last few weeks. Once again, a recommendation for next year: plan out your season. Even if you don't specifically adhere to the schedule, it's good to have a plan.
It's always hard as a young team to gain momentum and direction, that gets better with time. I know from experience - I joined my team in our second year. My suggestion for this year: Sit down as a team and evaluate where you are, what your resources are, and where those resources can get you by bag day. Keep in mind that you can continue work on a certain poundage of material before your regional.
3. Absolutely. Veteran teams have more resources than you can imagine. If we were nearer to you, I would offer our assistance (we're in PA, let me know if you think we can help with something!)
4. We still have horrible communication. All I can do is point you back to planning out your season. Have team meetings as often as possible. Update each other when you see each other. Find someone (maybe a captain) who can be the team communicator - making sure everyone's on the same page.
__________________
Micah Young, CEO
Biohazard 4050
2012: Rookie
2013: Semifinalist - Pittsburgh Regional; Quarterfinalist - Chesapeake Regional
2014: Semifinalist - Greater Pittsburgh Regional
2015: Winner - Chesapeake Regional
2016: Finalist - Greater Pittsburgh Regional; Quarterfinalist - Smokey Mountains Regional