Advice to Incoming Rookies

Hello to incoming rookies, and welcome to FIRST Robotics Competition! With Kickoff approaching, I know that we all are anxious about how this build season. One year ago, I was in every rookies’ shoes. I had made the leap and signed up for the team, paid the MSHSL fee, and was on the track to where I am today. I had no idea what was going to happen. Robotics changed my life with the guidance and advice of the lovely people around me and online. As a senior, and now a team captain, here is some advice I would give to incoming rookies.

1. Don’t be afraid to ask for help! We have all been rookies at some point. I have learned so much from just asking questions. It is better to be told how to do something than to just assume and then possibly make a mistake.
2. The rule book is your new best friend. As the Head of the Design department and a member of the Drive team, I read through the rule book at least three times. No matter what department you are in, the rule book will always be referenced, whether it’s for rules regarding wiring, bot size or the layout and components of the field. It’s better to know what you are looking for instead of skimming through the 100 pages looking for 1 rule. Also, check Chief Delphi and the FIRST website regularly for updates to the rules.
3. Stay on top of schoolwork! School always comes before any activity. Communicate your school schedule with coaches. They will be understanding if you need to miss a practice to take a test or work on a project. With competitions, you can miss up to one week of classes. Communicate with your teachers in advance to stay on top of everything!
4. Becoming friends with teammates makes build season so much more fun. You don’t need to be everyone’s best friend, but it makes build nights go faster if you can chat about the weather or last night’s hockey game.
5. Take care of yourself! Strive for eating 3 meals a day and getting as much sleep as possible. It makes work so much easier. Being well rested also makes us all better teammates and easier to communicate with.
6. Sign up for anything you are interested in! You never know where you’ll find your niche. Something that you never had any interest in could be the way you best support your team. I never had any clue I would be scouting, yet here I am. It is useful to your teammates to learn new skills.
7. Be patient! Not all of us can build a robot in 3 days. Take on problems with a calm approach and a clear mind. When frustrated, we are more likely to make avoidable mistakes. Accept that you don’t have all the answers, but work with your teammates and mentors to find them.
8. Don’t forget the amazing memories you will make this season. From when the feeling and joy when the autonomous finally works or the amazing feeling seeing you get picked for an alliance, or the laughs over a meme deep into build night, always cherish those memories. Look back to them in hard times.

I hope you all have a great first build season! Happy kickoff! If you have any questions, I would love to talk to any of you.

– Abby, MN FIRST