This chapter examines ways that a team can enrich not only its own FLL experience, but also the experience of all the teams it interacts with during a season. We also share feedback from real teams (scattered throughout the chapter) about how they organized, worked, played, and competed.
This chapter isn’t as much about what team members will receive from the FLL experience as it is about what the participants should strive to give back. Every team member has a responsibility to the team; they support and help one another in an effort to make FLL the best experience it can be for all involved.
FLL teams do not last forever; in fact, chances of the exact same team members being around next season are slim. Members move away or get too old to compete; new members join, and sometimes the team has a different coach.
Take the time to appreciate and encourage your team members and the diverse skills and personalities that make your team different from every other FLL team.
Team members should encourage one another in whichever endeavors they choose to tackle. If your Programming Team does a great job of debugging the program for Mission #3, tell them so. If the Research Team picks a topic that is interesting and inspiring for the community presentation, someone can see if the local newspaper will cover the event.
If a teammate goes above and beyond what is expected, let her know that you appreciate it and that it will benefit the team. Often so much is happening at team gatherings, the coach and team members can miss a lot. Team members should always look for ways to remind the group about how much fun they’re having.
One of the most exciting activities that two teams can share (besides the Robot Game) is simply getting to know one another. If you think your team is fun, wait until two teams get together . . . or even three or four!
The FLL team members’ shared interests in robotics, math, and science breaks down barriers. There really is no better icebreaker than two teams sharing their experiences and displaying the results of their hard work.
Because FLL is international, teams can often communicate with teams from around the world, sharing photos and information about their countries. And when teams that get to know one another qualify for the World Festival, meeting face-to-face is one of the most rewarding opportunities a team can have.
Share the FLL experience with your community, not just your parents and friends. Your community is full of organizations and individuals who may also enjoy the experience, so let them know! Here are some ideas for doing so:
Contact the local newspapers and television stations to inform them of your team’s work and any upcoming competitions.
Post flyers in coffee shops, grocery stores, and the post office inviting the public to attend the next competition and cheer on local teams.
Invite retirement communities to come to watch your team compete.
Ask the fire department if it will bring a fire truck to the next competition, and have some firemen talk about its functions and their job.
Send letters to your parents’ employers inviting them to the competition.
Ask elementary schools if your team can present information about FLL to get the younger kids excited.
As a team, every member has the opportunity to give back to schools, community, religious institutions, and other organizations that have provided support. Giving back may be as simple as having every team member send thank-you cards with notes of gratitude, or teams might consider volunteering to do some lawn work or a car wash to help raise funds for sponsoring organizations.
Carefully consider the financial support, time, and equipment that your team receives. If the sponsoring organizations do not wish to receive compensation (whether volunteer work or something else), consider having your team choose an unaffiliated nonprofit organization to assist as needed. For example, instead of compensating a sponsor, your team might organize a donation drive for a local after-school program that needs supplies or funding.
An FLL team is a powerful thing: a group with high motivation, intelligence, and creativity, which can do amazing things when its members put their minds to it. Multiply that team by more than 10,000 teams with similar intentions, all helping out and giving back in their local communities, and you have an international movement of students that is powerful on both the competition field and in the world.
While writing this book, we’ve been lucky to see and hear how teams share their FLL experience with friends, family, and other teams from around the world. We collected some of those experiences and list them here, but you’ll find still more in the forums at http://www.thenxtstep.com/smf/. Click Book Discussions and then FLL: Unofficial Guide to read the experiences of others and share your own.
Consider tracking your team’s progress through the season using a website or blog. Share photos and video of your team in action. To liven things up a bit, you might even consider sharing some of your failed programs or building designs that don’t make the cut. Make your site fun and entertaining, and give friends and families the URL so they can read about your team meetings, competitions, and research.
Document your team’s progress in a diary or journal throughout the season. Encourage all team members to record their experiences, including roadblocks, lessons learned, and breakthroughs. Supplement the journal with pictures of the team’s robot, screenshots of the programs, and any other materials that liven up the writing. Consider donating the finished work to the school library for future teams to read and learn from. Be sure to include a team picture as well as advice and encouragement for future teams.
Create a photo album to give to the coach or multiple albums for team mentors and sponsors. When taking photographs for the album, adhere to one rule: Take pictures of everything, including all team gatherings, competitions, and any place that the team assembles.
If possible, include simple captions for your photos, listing the names of the pictured people and a short sentence about what they’re doing. As with a diary or journal, consider donating the finished album to the school library.
Your team might consider commemorating the season by providing each member with a keepsake that can bring back memories of the fun and excitement of FLL. Examples of these items might be T-shirts or posters.
At most FLL competitions, you will see students wearing some sort of team shirts. These shirts usually picture graphics or signatures that were created by one or more team members. The team name and number, as well as a team slogan, are also often included.
Some teams upload team graphics to sites such as http://www.cafepress.com/, where team members can create custom items such as shirts, hoodies, book bags, and more. Others use funds from sponsors to print team shirts in quantity. (Shirts are a simple way for team members to distinguish themselves and for them to find one another at competitions among dozens or hundreds of other participants.)
Some teams also create an end-of-season poster that includes a team photo. Team members sign one another’s posters (like a yearbook) to hang at home as a reminder of the season.
We hope that you have some ideas for adding to the FLL experience; although your team will absolutely enjoy the Robot Game, Research portion, and competition environment, always keep your eyes open for ways to exceed your team’s expectations.
The FLL season moves fast, so constantly remind the team members to write down their thoughts and observations. Ask them to be diligent in photographing robot designs, team gatherings, and competitions. Ask the members and their families to record video of as many activities as can be captured.
FLL truly is a journey, so make sure to record as much of the trip as possible. And when the season is over, your team will be able to relive the experience as often as it likes.