2014 FRC Season

• Sponsors want to know what your team is up to so keep in contact with them. Your responsiveness to sponsors and donations are vital!

• Procrastination is your worst enemy. Manage your time wisely and be on top of your tasks or else you will fall behind.

• Train students as early as possible so that they are ready when build season begins because six weeks is not that long! A few things you could be working on in the beginning of the year: technical skills/knowledge, tool use, and safety.

• When trying to decide on your design, prototypes are extremely important.

• Building a practice field would be helpful for your drivers to practice and it will also give you a better idea of what the games will be like.

• Get your robot running as soon as possible to give drivers more time to practice.

• Order your materials well in advance! Order them too late and that will leave you in an idle state.

• Create action plans for every sub-team and make sure it is executed.

• We used Google Docs to store our files but it would have been helpful if everything was more organized. We suggest to delegate someone to create folders for everyone and share it with the whole team.

• The manual is long and boring, but everyone on the team should read through it so that the whole team is clear on the rules of the game and can catch any mistakes!

• Keep your social media updated and interact with other teams. The relationships you create will help strengthen your alliances.

• Have people designated to keep track of your social media accounts.

• Don’t be afraid to ask other teams for help!

• Get started on your bill of materials early because you might forget about it during the chaos.

• Having respect among the team is critical for good teamwork.

• During competitions, make sure everyone stays hydrated!

• To motivate students to stay dedicated to the team and work, require them to be present for ‘x’ amount of hours and to help raise ‘x’ amount of dollars in order for them to go to competitions.

• Make sure your activities are documented. As in, take lots of pictures and videos! These files will be useful in showcasing your team to other people. Always have extra memory cards on hand, especially during competitions.

• Delegate an inventory specialist.

• A strong image/brand is vital during your first year!

• Try and get parents involved as much as possible. Whatever they can do to support your team will help relieve some stress from the members and the mentors.