2011 Coach/Mentor Workshop
Kevin Reed
[email protected]
Raise
Hand
Here
Type
Questions
Here
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FIRST
FLL
Coaching
Tournament Day
Resources
Not much on the challenge
or project topic
Two hours (usually less)
“… to create a world where science and technology are
celebrated…where young people dream of becoming
science and technology heroes.”
Dean Kamen, Founder, FIRST
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F.I.R.S.T. (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and
Technology) is an international organization with a mission of
promoting interest in science and technology.
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Our goal is to encourage students to consider careers in
engineering and science.
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FRC
FTC
FLL
Jr.FLL
501 (c) (3) Non-profit organization
Founded 1989, by inventor Dean Kamen
International HQ in Manchester, NH
85,000 volunteers
3,000+ sponsoring companies
FIRST Robotics Competition
1992
High school
14-18 yrs
FIRST Tech Challenge
2005
Middle and high school
13-18 yrs
FIRST LEGO® League
1998
Elementary and middle school
9-14 yrs
FIRST Junior LEGO® League
2006
Elementary school
6-9 yrs
FIRST Robotics Competition
Jr. FIRST LEGO League
K
1
2
3
FIRST Tech Challenge
FIRST LEGO League
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
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We are a small group of enthusiastic volunteers who
organize and promote all FIRST programs:
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FIRST Junior LEGO League
FIRST LEGO League
FIRST Tech Challenge
FIRST Robotics Competition
A division of the Seattle Robotics Association
 The SRA is a 501c(3) non-profit corporation
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100% volunteer effort
www.firstwa.org
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Define problem
Brainstorm solutions and select one
Keep it simple
Plan and create a flowchart and take
measurements
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Divide program into small steps- use comment
boxes
Program one step at a time
Action should be consistently repeatable (3x in a
row)
Use my blocks (saves memory)
Pick a simple mission first that is close to base.
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FLL Core Values
Coach Promise
The Timeline
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We are a team.
We do the work to find solutions with guidance from our
coaches and mentors.
We know our coaches and mentors don’t have all the
answers; we learn together.
We honor the spirit of friendly competition.
What we discover is more important than what we win
We share our experiences with others.
We display Gracious Professionalism™ and
Coopertition™ in everything we do.
We have fun.
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Respect your team members at all times
Respect others as demonstrated by your actions
Recognize that friendly competition and mutual gain
are possible on and off the field
Make a valued contribution with special knowledge
that society entrusts us to use responsibly
Woodie Flowers, FIRST co-founder and MIT professor
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Friendly competition
Help other teams
Handle stress with grace
 Team name
 Team logo
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Mid-May thru Mid-Sept
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Early September
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Mid-end of September
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Sept-Oct-Nov
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December (first weekend)
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January
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Mid April
 Team formation and registration
 The challenge is released
 Registration closes
 Teams work on the robot and project
 10+ Local Qualifying Events
 State Tournament
 FLL World Festival
 FLL Regional Open
Your FLL team is expected to:
Explore the challenge theme in depth
 Share the fun of team based technical problem solving
 Get exposure to technical and professional career paths
senior solutions
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Your FLL team will spend 8-12 weeks working on:
Project
Project research, presentation
preparation, practicing
Robot
Game
Robot design, programming,
construction, and testing
Core
Values
Learning FLL Core Values, team
building, and organizing
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Teamwork
 Working together to do a complex task
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Risk taking
 There is personal risk in being creative
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Experimentation
 Learning by trying
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Dealing with failure effectively
 Learning by failing and recovering
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During the regional qualifiers, your team is
evaluated on the three primary elements:
 Project Presentation
 Robot Design and Construction
 Core Values (formerly Teamwork)
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Evaluations are subjective and are done by a panel of
volunteer judges
Awards are assigned by the judging panels
Judges use rubrics: READ THEM!
http://firstlegoleague.org/event/judging
Regional Champions
Robot: Performance
Project: Research
Project: Innovative Solution
Project: Presentation
Robot: Mechanical Design
Robot: Programming
Robot: Strategy & Innovation
Core Values: Inspiration
Core Values: Teamwork
Core Values: Gracious Professionalism
Judge Award
Performance Alternate (optional)
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Your team must:
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Select a problem related to the topic
Create a solution
Share it with the community
Present a summary of the project to the judges that tells
the story and demonstrates your team research results
Presentation format is up to your team. Use humor,
skits, and other engaging elements to tell your story.
Examples include newscasts, plays and songs
Watch presentation examples on the coach DVD and
online.
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Live performance for the judges
Practice, Practice, Practice
 Video tape practice sessions
 Honest critical feedback
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Beware audio/visual equipment and setup time
Your team is evaluated against a rubric
http://firstlegoleague.org/event/judging
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Your team must:
 Create a strategy to maximize points in 2.5 minutes
 Build a robot that interacts with mission pieces
 Program the robot to accomplish missions
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The robot is judged for its design quality
The robot ALSO gains the team points during the
mission competition
There are hundreds of NXT tutorials online. Check
FLL Team Resources and FIRSTWA FAQ
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Your team is interviewed by a judging panel to
discuss the design and construction of their
robot.
This is an interactive interview, we don’t expect a
formal presentation
Your team is evaluated against a rubric
http://firstlegoleague.org/event/judging
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New this year are formal judging sessions for
Core Values (formerly called Teamwork).
The judges are evaluating your team with an
activity during the Project session.
The judges are also observing your team at
random times during the day.
Input from referees, volunteers and other teams
IS accepted!
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The most prestigious award goes to the team
who demonstrates core values and highest
achievement in all categories:
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Project Presentation
Robot Design
Teamwork
Robot Performance
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Regional Qualifiers
8am to 5pm
Three main activities for teams
 Pit area and practice tables
 Technical, Presentation and Core Values Judging
 Robot Contest
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Award Ceremony mid afternoon
State Championship January 14th, 2012 (Sat)
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Team Information Sheet
 Three copies, one for each judge panel
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Consent and Release form
 One for each student and adult
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Extra robot batteries and charger (if rechargeable)
Laptop computer for program changes
Food, drinks and snacks (unless otherwise noted)
Extension cord and power strip
Field setup kit pieces and mat (to share with organizers if
needed)
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The Pit is where we come to find your team for
all activities.
Each team has a
single table
Practice rounds
and final tune-up
of robots is
common
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Technical, Presentation, and Core Values judging
starts in the morning before the contest. A
schedule for each team is posted on contest day.
Teams are retrieved
from their pit table and
returned by volunteer
runners.
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The contest is held in a main gym or large area
There are 3 rounds of robot contest
Best single score determines winner
Teams are retrieved by
runners, and queued up
to 3 matches early
Teams are returned to
the pits after the match
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Awards are presented at the end of the
tournament
Only one judged award per team
Robot Performance is a separate award and is
based only on score
 Robot performance is the
only award a team can win
in addition to a judged award
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Two Championship tournaments in Washington
 East and West
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Five teams from each regional go to Championships
Championship teams chosen by judges
 Top teams in each of the three categories
 Weighted to teams with great Core Values
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Performance Alternate is given
when a team wins Robot
Performance award AND another
judged award that sends them to
the championships
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Much help is available online for you
 [email protected] is our email list
 www.firstwa.org has information related specifically
to our WA State program
 www.usfirst.org is the international FIRST website and
links to everything related to FLL
 www.legoeducation.us is the U.S. LEGO Education
site that has NXT parts and other stuff for LEGO
robots
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Minnesota has a very well developed FLL
community. They have spent tons of time
producing fantastic online help for you.
www.hightechkids.org
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FLL Training Downloads
http://www.hightechkids.org/for-teams/coaches-library