Team Quickstart Guide
General FLL Resources
FIRST LEGO League Official Site Overview of the program, including Challenge, Explore, and Discover divisions
FIRST Inspires Resource Library Engineering notebooks, rubrics, coach guides, and more
Season Materials Includes current season theme, missions, rules, scoring, and model build instructions
Team Meeting Guide (PDF) Weekly plans for team meetings — great for new coaches
Tournament Guide What to expect at events, including judging and schedules
Robot Design & Programming
SPIKE Prime Software Official app for LEGO SPIKE Prime and Essential kits
EV3 Classroom Download Legacy LEGO Mindstorms programming platform
Pybricks Python-based alternative for SPIKE and EV3 kits
FLLTutorials.com Comprehensive tutorials from veteran teams covering:
Programming: SPIKE Prime (Word Blocks & Python), EV3, Pybricks
Robot Design: Base designs, attachments, modularity, alignment
Judging & Core Values: Practice activities, Innovation Project prep
Team Management: Calendars, checklists, coaching tips
Judging & Innovation Project
Judging Rubrics For Innovation Project, Core Values, and Robot Design
Innovation Project Guide (PDF) Helps teams identify problems, design solutions, and present ideas effectively
Event Prep & Logistics
Tournament Day Checklist What to bring and how to prepare
Practice Tournament Format Guide for hosting or participating in mock tournaments
Community & Mentorship
FLL Reddit Community Team photos, build help, peer advice
FLL Coaches Facebook Group Tips and support from veteran coaches
Unofficial FLL Discord Server Real-time discussions with teams and mentors
YouTube Channels & Playlists
FIRST LEGO League YouTube Channel Season reveal videos, challenge animations, and team stories
FLL Tutorials YouTube Videos on programming and robot design
STEMcentric YouTube Channel Mission strategies and robot walkthroughs
Cost & Funding
First-year teams will need to purchase a LEGO Education SPIKE Prime kit
Used EV3 or LEGO Mindstorms kits can be found on eBay to save money
Engineering notebooks are optional — any notebook will work
After year one, expected cost is around $350 per season
Other costs may include:
Team t-shirts
Snacks
Minimal travel for events
Time Commitment
Minimum: 2 hours/week from August through competition
Many teams add extra practices the 1–2 weeks before competition
Not all students need to attend every practice – sub-teams are helpful
Local competitions are typically half-day Saturday events (8 am–1 pm)
State competition is a full day event in January at Iowa State University
Mentors & Coaches
Each team needs at least 2 coaches (no STEM experience required)
Mentors can be community members, local businesses, high schoolers, or topic experts
These contacts can also become sponsors to help cover team costs
Additional Resources
Last updated
Was this helpful?