FRC Team 1511 Rolling Thunder FLL Coach Training 2010 Season September 8, 2010 Matthieu Dora Larry Lewis

1. FRC Team 1511 Rolling Thunder FLL Coach Training 2010 Season September 8, 2010 Matthieu Dora Larry Lewis

2. FLL Coach Training • Presentation Overview • FLL Overview • Coaches • Mentors • More Coaching advice • Judging • Tournament

3. FLL Overview • FIRST Lego League ( 12th year !) • CORE Values • TEAM MISSIONS/TASKS/COMMITMENT • The TIMELINE

4. FLL CORE VALUES • Respect each other in the Best Spirit of Teamwork • Behave with courtesy and compassion for others at all times • Honor the spirit of friendly competition • Act with Integrity • Demonstrate Gracious Professionalism • Encourage others to adopt these values

5. GRACIOUS PROFESSIONALISM • Gracious attitudes are ‘win – win’ • Gracious folks respect others and let that respect show in their actions • Gracious professionals make a valued contribution in a manner pleasing to others and to themselves as they possess special knowledge and are trusted by society to use that knowledge responsibly - Woodie Flowers, FIRST Co-founder and MIT professor

6. TEAM MISSION Your FLL Team is expected to: • Explore in depth the challenge theme • Share the fun of technical problem solving • Open up the possibility of technical careers

7. TEAM TASKS Your FLL team will be evaluated on: • Research Presentation • Robot Design and Construction • Teamwork

8. TEAM COMMITMENT • Teamwork • Risk Taking • Experimentation • Dealing with failure effectively

9. The FLL Timeline • Mid-May Thru Mid-Sept • Team Formation and registration • September 3rd • The challenge is released • Sept – Oct – Nov • Teams work on the challenge • Late Nov – Early Dec • Qualifying Events • State Tournament @ University of Rochester • Late April • FLL World Festival

10. COACHES • The Team Coach is the team leader. • Coaches provide structure and direction as the kids work to create the solution to the year’s challenge & project. • Coaches are rarely technical experts. • The most important features of a coach are patience, dedication, and a willingness to learn with the team.

11. Good Advice for Coaches • Do not take FLL too seriously. • The goal of FLL is for your kids to have fun with robots while being exposed to technology and science. • Do not solve the problem for the kids. • Avoid over emphasis on winning (compete to improve) • Have fun.

12. The Mentors • A mentor is any person who works with the team. • Invite guest speakers to come and speak to your team about their project • Asking guest mentors to come to at least 1 meeting is a great recruiting tool. Once they get involved, they typically stay involved.

13. Mentors • Engineers – Can help provide skills for the robot’s design or help with the team project. • FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) member – High school student who may have experience building a robot. • Science professional – Perhaps an expert in some area of this years challenge can provide help with research and solutions. • Graphic Artist – Can provide help with presentations, T-Shirt designs, etc • Computer Programmer – Can help the team learn how to program the robot and troubleshoot.

14. Nuts and Bolts of Coaching • Time Commitment • Meet with your team twice a week for about 2 hours. Adjust as you see fit. • Time vs Progress • Most progress is made in the final couple of weeks. Expect to expend more effort towards the end. • THE KIDS COME FIRST • Remember the kids are the ones learning by doing. Let the kids solve the problems. Your role is to be a guide and director.

15. The Screws and Nails of Coaching • Providing facilities • Meetings need access to a computer, the internet, a robot work area, and a place to layout a 4x8 playfield. A classroom or conference room works. • The ‘Table’ is a 4x8 sheet of plywood with 2x4’s around the edge.

16. The Budget • A sample budget • Team registration fee: $200 • Field Setup Kit: $65 • Tournament fee: $125 • T-Shirts, batteries, etc: $100 • Startup costs • Robot Kit: $395 • Practice Table: $50 • Travel Expenses (if needed) • 3 hotel rooms: $300 • Food for: $150

17. Team Dynamics • Children under the age of 11 • Will tend to want to start over if something does not work • Respond better to hands-on examples or visual explanations. • Require a little more time and explanation • Children over the age of 11 • Are more willing to try and improve their existing design • Can handle conceptual suggestions • Teams with mixed age groups will require some additional direction

18. Team Dynamics • Experienced vs Rookies • Some of your kids may be experts at LEGO, some may be rookies • Try having the older experienced kids help train the younger students • Be sure everyone is involved and owns some part of the robot or presentation

19. Evaluation of your Team • During the contests, your team is evaluated on the primary tasks… • The Team Project Presentation • Robot Design and Construction • Teamwork • Evaluations are subjective and done by a panel of volunteer judges. • Awards are assigned by the judging panels.

20. The Team Project Presentation • Your team is asked a very open question about the year’s theme. For example, 2009’s game Smart Move. • In the best way possible, describe your community. Next, create a list of all the ways things move in your community. Choose one method of transportation and research how it is dangerous, slow, or problematic. • Create an innovative solution to help them improve the safety, speed or efficiency of your chosen means of transportation. • Finally, share what you have learned with others in your community.

21. Team Project Presentation Judging • Your team is asked to select a challenge, create a solution, and present it to the judges. • The format of your presentation is up to the team. Examples in the past have been everything from skits, newscasts, videos, and songs. • Your team is evaluated against a rubric that you will be provided. • Significant items on the rubric are: • Teamwork (does everyone participate?) • Research Quality & Accuracy (not just internet and make sure it is correct) • Presentation (try to not go over 5 minutes and try to make it interactive)

22. Robot Design Judging • Your team will be interviewed by a judging panel to discuss the design and construction of their robot. • This is an interactive interview, we do not expect a formal presentation. • There is a rubric the judges are looking for. You will be provided the rubric in your coaches materials.

23. Teamwork Judging • FIRST uses an informal method of judging your teamwork. • The judges are evaluating your team during the Project and Robot Design sessions. • The judges are observing your team at random times during the day. • A rubric is provided.

24. Robot Performance • The 4th element to the robot contest is the score that your robot generates on the table. • Your score is the objective measurement of the robots success. • The best score of three matches is the one that counts, and is used to rank all of the teams.

25. Qualifier Tournament Day • November 20th (Saturday) • Event is from about 8 AM to 4 PM • Three main activities for the teams • Pit area and practice tables. • Technical and Presentation Judging • Robot Contest • Award Ceremony

26. Pit Area and Practice Tables • The pit is were we come to find your team for all activities. • Each team will have a single table and a power strip. • Practice rounds and final tune up of the robot is common.

27. The Judging Process • Technical and Presentation judging starts in the morning before the contest. A schedule will be posted on contest day. • Teams are retrieved from their pit table and returned by host volunteers. • Judging will happen concurrently with the contest.

28. Robot Contest • The contest is held in the Gym. • There are 3 rounds of robot contest. • Best single score determines the winner. • Teams are retrieved by runners, and queued up 3 matches ahead of their run. • The teams perform with their robot and are then returned to the pits.

29. Award Ceremony • At the end of the day, awards are presented. • Only one judged award per team. • Robot performance is a separate award and is based only on score.

30. Wrap UP • FLL is a well thought out program that every school can participate in. • FLL has a great set of CORE principals. • Running an FLL team is very rewarding for coaches and mentors. • FLL is FUN for everyone!

31. FRC team 1511Rolling Thunder www.penfieldrobotics.com www.usfirst.org www.firstlegoleague.org Larry Lewis (585) 242-4479 – work info@penfieldrobotics.com