(Nervous) New Mentor Looking for Guidance

FIRST General Forum
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Hello!

I’m a new FRC mentor, and I could really use some advice. I’m a FIRST alum (I was an FRC student for 4 years) and even mentored a team last year (as a relatively young mentor). Since then, I’ve moved to a new state and am eager to mentor again.

Although my experience working with students last year was quite rewarding, I found it incredibly challenging to find my footing in the new role. Unfortunately, I’m not an engineer, and many of my FIRST skills — both hard and soft — seem to have atrophied since high school. This past year, while I’d like to think I was helpful in some capacity, I felt lost so much of the time — like I didn’t even know what to do in the day-to-day.

I am deeply passionate about FRC and FIRST, but I’m so lost about how to inspire/support the students. It’s been heartbreaking for me. Mentoring feels like such an art of love, and I’m determined to get better at it. I know I’ll improve with time & practice… but I know just how many incredible mentors are out there – and I’d love some extra help!

So, I’m reaching out to ask for tips, pearls of wisdom, or any insights you can share as I take the next steps in my FIRST journey. I strive to be even a fraction of the amazing mentor figures that my high school coaches were for me. I would be so grateful for literally as much advice as you’re willing to share, I’ll take everything! — (and maybe a little encouragement too, I’m feeling extraordinarily nervous)

Thank you in advance for your guidance. It means the world to me and, hopefully, to the students I’ll mentor
: )

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You and me both XD

We’re all a little lost on the day to day I think. Insert typical advice about going with the flow

You mentioned you are a young mentor and have recently moved to a new state. Are you a university student perhaps?

The role of university students in FIRST teams is not negligible, but this is the point where I personally felt most adrift. Most (good) advice will encourage you to take a 2-3 years off. If you want to be involved, volunteer at an event!

If you are to be involved with a team, not that many years departed from high-school, be aware of the dynamic you bring to the team. College-aged folks can sometimes be a vital link between students and older mentors - similar ages means you will be seen and conversed with differently than someone 10 years your senior. But the age similarity comes with problems to, you may not be seen as a “mentor”. (side note, even though I graduated YEARS ago I have a strict personal policy of no student contact info outside the team group chat, no Venmo, no emails, etc. I advise you do the same)

A lot of teams put college aged students on “special projects” - sometimes these are robot related, sometimes these are shop related (set up a CNC for example), etc etc. You may find a year of trying something different to be a good learning experience, instead of trying to pick up on roles you did as a student.

Depending on the group you are working with maybe this is more student involvement, maybe minimal. It really depends on the person.

Some ideas:

  • Set up a scouting system (crucially do not try to be “lead scouting mentor” at least your first year, let someone else do that if you can. Too much student interaction and I was personally not prepared for that type of leadership, ymmv though)
  • Do some organizational work for the shop (e.g. racks to handle stock and sheet goods, or setting up a new machine)
  • Shadow the lead mentor with admin and grant tasks (knowing how to write a grant/get sponsorship is a very valuable skill)
  • Help wrangle parents and explain the program - organize helpful parent energy
  • Build field elements
  • Pick up the KOP on kickoff
  • Do some bumper testing (fabrics, foams, backer material, mounting systems)
  • Know a lot about old robots other teams have built and point people in the direction of those machines for prototyping.
  • Start a team media group and have a team account with photos (parents love it when you can hand them a half dozen good shots of their graduating senior)

You get the idea.

Communication and mentoring is not an easy (nor static) task, it all takes time to learn and to continue to relearn.

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I struggled to figure out how to mentor (and still do). Having strong role models, both on my team and others, has been instrumental in making me… somewhat useful? I still feel like I’m underwater most days; I think the important part is trying to do a little bit better each season, each day, and in each interaction.

I know our students see my posts - I make sure to say, regularly, that I have no idea what I’m doing, but that we can figure it out together if they can’t on their own. We should all be trying to learn what we can from those around us, build some skills of our own, and keep trying.

Right now, I’m “in charge” of recruiting and managing adult mentors on our team. Of the 20ish adults somewhat involved in our team, I’m among the youngest. I know that I have things to learn from the older mentors, and they know that they can (sometimes?) learn something from me.

Something under-discussed is the need for mentors to be mentored. If you haven’t already landed with a team, take some time to visit several teams in the area. See what structures exist for onboarding new mentors, see where you could see yourself being helpful, and find a place where you can be useful and you can learn something.

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Holy smokes I have learned so much over the years from others. Not just technical - but navigating life (hopefully I was helpful in return).

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Oh and one other thing.

Let kids be kids. You are not running a business that needs to maximize profit, this isn’t a dictatorship either, we are here to learn and have fun. Let people know they are doing a good job. Let people screw around a little. Let people make mistakes. Let people take charge.

There are a lot of different homes that students grow up in. Given time you can tell what/when students need a confidence boost, something to call their own, a quiet space, some good ol’ escapsism, someone to talk at/to, or sometimes an ego check.

Sometimes you have the energy for it, sometimes you don’t. Kids are REALLY good at reading adults moods/body language, etc., really good.

images

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Same, and often from people younger than me. Sometimes it was because of navigating the situation, but often, they just straight-up knew things I didn’t.

I also forgot how to talk to groups larger than about 2 people during the pandemic and had to re-learn that. The first presentation I tried to give in 2021 was a complete and utter disaster. Also, I probably wasn’t as good as I remembered, or I’d probably have recovered more by now.

Go out there and do it a little bit wrong so you can do it better. Don’t get the big things wrong – don’t go yelling at people or otherwise causing them harm, but go try and don’t worry too much about succeeding the first time. If you get it wrong in the moment, it’s okay for it to take a day or a hundred for you to figure it out, come back, and own up to it, as long as it’s genuine. If no one gets hurt in the process, it’ll all work out. I don’t know who said it, but it’s like that idea in design: “plan to throw one away; you will anyhow.”

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Start doing your homework. Even with 4 years of FIRST, there’s much to learn. Luckily, even some of FRC’s best design mentors/designers don’t have a mechanical engineering background. Fortunately, learning FRC from a technical standpoint isn’t too demanding regarding prereqs, but it is pretty domain-specific, so you’ll have to do your homework. (go through frcdesign.org’s learning course!) Picking up a bit of everything, such as electrical and programming, won’t hurt and will help your team a lot.

Go as broad as you can early so you can get a feel for how everything connects, then deep in design, and it’ll help you a lot in regards to understanding how your students feel and how you can support their experience. Of course, the nontechnical side is super important, but I think this might be some slightly more unconventional advice that I think would be important. Don’t be afraid to step in and fill gaps, and touch the robot. My general advice is that you want to prioritize inspiration and mental health for your students, so supporting them in making good robots and helping them have a good experience. (If your team has a culture of “freshman labor”, its probably demotivating for some students) Try to make sure that students are always doing things that feel important and valuable to them.

Always play the support role and be willing to learn to fill gaps, and as long as you are there to help actively, your students will appreciate it. (Don’t let them fail for like a week and burn out and crash; I’ve seen a lot of mentors do this to make their students learn a lesson)

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To put my 2 cents here - just be there if tou can. If you can’t be there for the day that’s also fine. But if you’re there, let the student know that they can approach you with anything (you feel comfortable handling) and work together to solve the issue.
They have a lot to learn but we do as well so why not learn together.
We run things so that mentors either do tasks that no student can do (we’re a small team) or they’re just there working out issues small and large.

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I haven’t been doing this that long (at least FRC) but the feedback I give to new coaches is just to survive your first season. I have been that lone mentor with no other adults around and the weight of responsibility is truly crushing. (It’s even worse when you have never done FRC in any capacity)

Folks are right if you have seasoned mentors around you, lean on them and ask them questions. But even if they aren’t on your team you’ll find mentors are always willing to give you a hand.

So back to my specific advice.

  • Survive. Set goals but make sure they are modest ones. Build on that success the next year.
  • Ask questions. Use chief find local mentors, anyone that can help.
  • Read! Being a software guy I have no professional knowledge of mechanical things. So I had to learn about what I didn’t know …I am still learning and my night stand is filled with books.
  • Utilize your relative ignorance with your students and encourage them to grow and learn with you. You will find they turn into fantastic team leaders. Strong leads will act as a force multiplier and allow you to scale.
  • Project manage your team. Pick a method agile, Kanan, doesn’t matter what. Just track tasks and dates.
  • Don’t be afraid to cut things. If that fancy vision system isn’t coming together, scrap it and work on it during the off season. Learn the PACE acronym and use it. (Primary-alternate-contingency-emergency. )
  • Lastly mind your health and mental health. Being a lead mentor can be a lot. The desire to create opportunities for our students can create massive stress….especially when added to a job, family, etc. Eat well, get in a little exercise, and get some sleep. (I’m guilty of not doing these things and I’m trying to do better)
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I know so many great mentors who are neither engineers nor who could they build working robots by themselves.

Simply by showing up and having passionate for your students you are inspiring and supporting them.

As for tips -

  • Be calm, high school and robotic are already hectic enough, your students don’t need to see the adults in the room panicking or ranting
  • Be encouraging, both celebrating small & large successes as well as encouraging your students/team to try new things.
  • Don’t be afraid to look up solutions to your teams’ problems, your team doesn’t need to reinvent things that already exist
  • Don’t overwork yourself, a burned out mentor helps no one
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An excellent post. I would modify this one just a bit. Don’t be afraid to not know things. Some of your most powerful words will be “Let’s find out”. (you can even say this when you do know)

Also don’t criticize, ask questions. Big difference between “That will never work” and “Help me understand how this { fastens to the robot | works with the elevator | clears the frame when holding a ball | etc }. “Oh, crud”, Then: “Have you thought about _______?” Or “Is there another way you could ______?”

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Lots of good advice already here. To add to that, some ways to help students that have nothing to do with specific skills:

  1. help keep them on task.
  2. Ask questions/make suggestions.
  3. Help with structure/organization of tasks/groups. (This is dependent on how much is mentor vs student led on your team)
  4. Ask older/more experienced mentors for advice.
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Thanks for volunteering! :robot: You’re doing your team members a great service by sharing your time and FRC experience.

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If it were a different year, I’d be smashing the spotlight button on these quotes. I know I’m a better engineer and person for having gone through the process of discovery on tough subjects alongside peers and students.

As I’ve participated over the years, I’ve found myself trying to distill my personal philosophy as a mentor to its most simple form. The three tenets I’m currently sitting at are:

  • Health and safety first (physically, mentally, socially, etc.)
  • I am here to share what I know, and learn collaboratively when I don’t have the answer
  • I will strive to do as little direct work as possible when there are students capable of doing it, but I will do my best to fill gaps whenever needed (whether that means training students properly, or doing it myself if there aren’t other options)

Thanks for asking for help and getting a great conversation going here, OP!

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One thing to remember, is that no 2 teams are the same.
Just like no 2 students, teachers, schools, or businesses are exactly the same, so - the approach you take while mentoring will most likely need to be customized to fit.

If something works for one situation, it may not work for another. Don’t try to force a square peg into a round hole. Look for other solutions, together.

Inspiration is the goal, do your best to keep that in focus while doing your best to mentor. You will, if you haven’t already learned, that everyone involved mentors each other, in one way or another.

Relax and enjoy the experience. It can very, very, rewarding for mentors too.

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You are correct, it is a passion, and an act of love. Most of us, like you, love what we do, that is why we do it. It will take time to hit your stride, be patient!
One word of advice, find what you do feel competant at. Start there. Your other mentoring skills will grow in time.
When you get frustrated, don’t react to it, respond to it. That skill will be tested time and gain. You will get better at it.
Lastly, try to not compare yourself to other “great mentors out there”. Learn from their example instead.

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I am a Lead Mentor with no engineering, 2024 season I helped build a (singular) wheel. That is the most I have ever build in my 9 years with FRC. The skills I bring are herding cats, being the calm in the middle of the storm, and project management. It is absolutely fine not to know “everything” about FRC/ Engineering/ programming. Learning WITH the students is part of what keeps many mentors coming back.

Ask the current mentors what roles they need filled. I have one mentor who from the outside might look like she isn’t important, but she is actually critical. She is “the adult in the room” in our computer room were the business side and programmers meet (we have a separate build room). This allows me to move from room to room as needed AND she learns lots of information about the students. She is “the person” a lot of the students talk to about all kinds of things. She KNOWS which students get along with who or can’t stand each other (can be important when choosing a drive team), she knows if students are having problems at home, are feeling too stressed with AP classes and robotics, who’s dating who. All those interpersonal relationships that are really the core of team culture and draw people in or force them out. She can let me know if I need to step in and tell another adult, “You need to back off XXX, you are losing them” or " XXX is bored but doesn’t know how to ask for more to do."

What I am trying to say is we all have different skill sets and all of them are important to the goals of FIRST. Being a good mentor is like being a good macro management boss. It is our job to make sure the students have the tools/resources they need to do their job, not tell them (micromanage) HOW to do the job. Does this mean you have the BEST robot on the field, nope, but does it mean your students learned along the way, defiantly.

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Hi!

Totally feel you, I’m 21 and head coach 3 FTC teams and 2 FRC Teams.

Honestly, the best thing you can do to get back in the swing is to do your own research (CD is great for that), adn that comes with the added benefit of being able to share any resources you find with your students.

Also, see if you can connect with other mentors in your community. For example, in TX we have the TX Mentor Slack, where we all collaborate, and we often have mentor meetups in larger cities where we can all gather and chat.

As a young mentor, you likely connect with your students in a different way than the older mentors. Use that to your advantage, and help teach the students to advocate for their ideas and plans, as well as teaching them to communicate with their team members. On this note, awards, marketing, and business are often overlooked by studentws, but are key to the teams sustainability and success, so helping there may be where you get started.

Last thing I’ll say - those students rely on mentors to be their safe space. By just being there and being a friendly face, you’re making an impact.

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Ive been a mentor, both lead and assisting on and off for the past 15 years. All i can say is that im still learning a lot to this day (im sure mentors that have been around longer than me would echo this). A lot of what ive become very good at over the years is rolling with the punches and oh boy can that be brutal sometimes.

You arent expected to be a superhuman that can do everything, find people to help support you in the areas that you are less confident in and you will learn over time. Personally, while i know my way around most aspects of FRC, i usually defer code to another mentor or our student lead. Im perfectly capable of understanding it and helping with troubleshooting when it matters, but the fine details (especially with swerve) are at least currently outside of my area of expertise.

Just remember, above all else we’re here to make it an enjoyable experience for the students at the end of the day so its important to be able to emphasize what the core values of both your team and FIRST are.

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My first year mentoring, I came in having never interacted with a First program, having never used Java, and got put in charge of the programming team. :sweat_smile:
What really helped me was understanding that even though I was new to the team, the veteran students were not. They could absolutely make a robot without me, no problem.

So, take a deep breath, and realize that if you contribute nothing, the team will still be OK. Your role as mentor is not to be a critical pillar for the team, it’s to boost everyone’s productivity. If you don’t know where to start, look at the pain points and struggles of the existing process students and mentors are facing.

In my first year, the big issue was less about the team having the necessary skills, and more about poor engagement. We were not set up to handle multiple programmers, despite having 6 people dedicated to the role. The robot code was literally passed around on a singular thumbdrive, leading to one person doing all the work, and 5 kinda… chilling. So, I set up github, and taught students how to manage their code so that we could have a more robust process, and better split the work, and pull in contributions from everyone.

But now that we had 6 people who can contribute code, we needed to make sure they could code, and no mentor with experience in frc. So, I did the obvious thing. I told the veteran student his role is no longer coding, but to teach me and the other students what we’re doing. :slight_smile: He did exactly that, and suddenly we had 6 students who could code a bot, and 1 more who massively improved his soft skills.

Over time you’ll end up being a valuable resource in and of yourself, but in the meantime just a friendly presence, and look for problems you can help with, and involve others in the resolving them. You got this.

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