Team Administration
Overview
This guide provides a comprehensive foundation for starting, managing, and sustaining a successful FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team. Whether you're a rookie team or looking to grow your impact, use this as a reference for best practices, tools, and key areas of team development.
Team Structure and Leadership
Key Roles
Lead Mentor: Oversees all team activities, communicates with FIRST HQ, ensures safety
Technical Mentors: Guide students in mechanical, electrical, and programming areas
Student Leadership: Team captain, subteam leads (build, programming, outreach, etc.)
Parents and Volunteers: Logistics, meals, transportation, and fundraising support
Organization Tips
Hold regular team meetings with a clear agenda
Use a team charter or handbook to outline expectations and policies
Create subteams (mechanical, electrical, programming, business, media, etc.)
Preseason Planning
Recruitment
Host interest meetings at school
Present in classrooms and local events
Welcome all students—technical and non-technical
Training
Conduct workshops on tools, CAD, programming, and safety
Encourage students to learn leadership and project management skills
Fundraising
Apply for FIRST and sponsor grants
Seek local business sponsorships
Organize community fundraisers (car washes, dinners, etc.)
Build Season Essentials
Timeline
Kickoff in January: Analyze game, strategize, prototype
Weeks 1-3: Design, build drivetrain and mechanisms
Weeks 4-6: Refine, test, and drive practice
Stop build at competition or transport time
Project Management
Use tools like Trello, Notion, or Monday for task tracking
Daily stand-ups to align progress
Document everything (designs, code, test results)
Competition Preparation
Robot Transport and Packing
Checklist for tools, pit display, batteries, chargers, and spares
Practice loading and unloading
Scouting and Strategy
Develop a paper or digital scouting system
Assign roles for drive team, pit crew, scouts, and strategy
Team Spirit
Create team branding (shirts, banners, buttons)
Cheer on alliance partners and be respectful to all teams
Outreach and Impact
Community Involvement
Mentor younger teams (FLL, FTC)
Host demos at schools and community centers
Participate in parades, STEM nights, and public events
Awards
Focus on Impact Award, Engineering Inspiration, and Judges’ Awards
Keep documentation of all outreach and team growth
Involve students in writing and presenting submissions
Sustainability
Finances
Build an annual budget
Track income and expenses
Set long-term goals for growth and travel
Mentorship
Recruit and retain adult mentors
Develop returning alumni as technical or leadership mentors
Knowledge Transfer
Maintain engineering notebooks or team wiki
Host end-of-season retrospectives and summer training
Key Resources
FIRST Inspires: https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc
FRC Discord Community
Onshape, GitHub, WPILib: Tools for CAD and programming
Final Thoughts
Running an FRC team is a rewarding challenge. Focus on building a positive culture, encouraging student leadership, and always striving for growth—both in robot performance and impact beyond the field.
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