To succeed, both the coach and the team members must commit to the entire process. Above all, it’s important to remember that the kids need you to give them guidance and provide structure, encouragement, and most of all, a fun experience.

Teams require at least one adult coach. As the coach you must be 18 or older. Lots of people make good coaches such as parents, teachers, engineers, college students, and scout leaders. It requires no special skill, just patience, dedication, and a willingness to learn alongside the team. You will need to direct the process the team follows to solve the Challenge without providing the solution yourself.

In addition, you must be willing to acquire some basic knowledge of the programming environment and LEGO robot building or have an assistant coach who can. We encourage you to enlist the support of a technology mentor or guest speakers for additional assistance. We also recommend that you invite people with backgrounds in engineering, programming, and the science of the Challenge to share their knowledge and experience with your team.

Talk to your local FLL Partner to get answers to a lot of your questions and to get in touch with experienced coaches in your area. Try building practice robots, both by yourself and with your team. Try completing some of the programming mini-challenges available year-round.

Materials

If the coach is not the purchaser of the FLL registration and associated materials, they should be aware of who is. The coach should follow up with the purchaser to make sure they receive all FLL material for the season.

View FLL material list

Coaches' Handbook 2009

Once you register your team for the season, as part of the registration package you will receive the Coaches’ Handbook and DVDs to help you guide your team.  To help get you started and answer some of the questions you may have, here are the first few chapters from the Handbook. They will give you a great basis to start with including advice for coaches, tips on team dynamics, what resources are necessary, and a sample budget with suggestions on fundraising!

Chapter 1: Building an FLL Foundation
Chapter 2: Building a Team
Chapter 3: Building a Season
Rubrics for 2009 Season

Teleconference Recordings - 2009 Smart Move Season Topic Date Call Outline Recording Hosted by... FLL New Coach Orientation 8/19/2009        Listen Frank Merrick (FLL Coach) & Mary Johnson (RI Partner) FLL Coaching - Team Management 8/27/2009        Listen Skye Sweeney (FLL Global Coach Advisor) & Holly Mezera (MN Partner) FLL Team Mentor Orientation 9/9/2009       Listen Senior Mentors Steve Cremer and Nancy McIntyre, with Jenny Becker from Rockwell Collins The FLL Project 9/24/2009       Listen Denise Lewis (Senior Mentor), Skye Sweeney (FLL Global Coach Advisor) and Dana Chism (FLL Staff) The FLL Game 10/7/2009        Listen   Rich Levey (Senior Mentor), Skye Sweeney (FLL Global Coach Advisor) and Scott Evans (FIRST FLL Engineer) Judging: A Perspective for the Coach 10/22/2009      Listen  Sally Sylvestor (Senior Mentor), Skip Gridley (FLL Global Judge Advisor), and Carol Dostal (VA Partner) Preparing for an FLL Event 11/4/2009        Listen Hosted by Steve Cremer, partnered with Skye Sweeney, and Jeff Rosen

Teleconference Recordings - 2008 Climate Connections Season Topic Call Outline Recording Hosted by... Preparing for an FLL Event    Listen  Kristian Breton, Mary Johnson and Karen Burnett-Kurie Judging: A Perspective for the Coach    Listen  Skip Gridley, Kathy Levine, Jean Hoppert, Karen Burnett-Kurie, Jodi Kravitz What is the Project?      Coach Orientation, 102    Listen  Sally Sylvester, Steve Cremer, Barbara Gomez and Holly Mezera Coach Orientation, 101    Listen  Sally Sylvester, Steve Cremer and Karen Burnett-Kurie