It’s slightly different from the main topic of the thread, but one thing I think FIRST could be better at is providing a comprehensive list of beginner’s resources for new teams. The fact that you are unaware of the resources available indicates a partial failure of those that exist. A big part of this is the non-technical and cultural aspects of FIRST. It would have been great to know how much other teams would be willing to help us out our first years. Another cultural aspect is the mentor based issue you are referring to.