My luck with getting back fees as been nil. Are there any back-up
applications where you can get a new member to buy out his "share" ?
Otherwise it needs to be explained to the group that voting this team
member out means picking up his tab, so the parents should be informed of
this prior to the vote so they can discuss it with their child & with you
if they need to.
   Next year, I would suggest keeping the fees the same and buying another
robot.  It makes programming for the robot missions SO much faster. In
fact, we have three robots- all identically built.  Three seems to be the
max we can work on during our programming sessions.   But two is such an
amazing improvement on time management for completing, testing, and
practicing the robot game, I would suggest two robots for each team.  It's
a luxury, but not a frivolous one!
    A parent contract and team members contract would also be advisable
next year- hindsight being 20/20 :)
Regards,
Brandy


On Wed, Oct 24, 2012 at 10:26 AM, Phil Smith III <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Agreed. The fact that he doesn’t want to do it isn’t YOUR problem. What if
> you didn’t continue next year?****
>
> ** **
>
> I’d consider it reasonable for ANY new member to pay the same as the
> founding members to “buy in”, other than perhaps the cost of the table. You
> need a new challenge kit every year, for example. Any overage would go to
> defray tournament fees, pay for T-shirts, swaps, beer^wteam snacks, etc.**
> **
>
> ** **
>
> And yes, $$$ up front. Lesson learned!****
>
> -- ****
>
> Phil Smith III****
>
> ** **
>
> Coach, The Capital Girls (retired)****
>
> Team 1900 (2002)****
>
> Team 2497 (2003)****
>
> Team 2355 (2004)****
>
> Team 1945 (2005)****
>
> ** **
>
> *From:* First Lego League in Virginia and DC [mailto:
> [log in to unmask]] *On Behalf Of *Eric Palmer
> *Sent:* Wednesday, October 24, 2012 10:03 AM
> *To:* [log in to unmask]
> *Subject:* Re: [VADCFLL-L] {VADCFLL-L] team member leaving****
>
> ** **
>
> I'm a retired coach and have had members leave for a variety of reasons
>
> 1) get the money upfront next time
> 2) just like a sports team (softball, swimming) - you pay, you leave (or
> are kicked off the team), team keeps the $
> 3) we have used contracts before where the students and parents sign the
> statement of expectations.  Once we put this in place we had no one
> question the money or even the level of commitment that is required to be a
> full member.  Your mileage may vary.
>
> Good luck. this can be very stressful for all involved.
>
> Eric P****
>
> On Wed, Oct 24, 2012 at 10:00 AM, Parakh Saini Batra <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:****
>
> Hello All,
> I am rookie coach of a rookie team of 4th graders. There are currently 6
> on my team. I have a situation where I have a very disruptive team member
> who is slowing down the progress of the team and is not really interested
> in contributing.  I have been trying to work with him all season to help
> him find his groove - but there is only so much leeway I can give until it
> becomes unfair to the other members. I had a discussion with his mother
> early this week about the issue hoping she could talk to him, but she
> basically felt that I needed to just work around his bad attitude. So we
> left it as:
> 1. she does not want her son to join the team next year
> 2. she has conveyed to me after our conversation that her son is not happy
> being on the team or the progress we are making -  if we want to keep him
> on he will stick it out this season - but attend every other meeting. (I
> know what the answer should be - but I will leave it up to the rest of the
> team if they think he should stay the season or bow out)
>
> 1. SO she wants to know - can the replacement member next year 'buy' out
> her 'share' - referring to the initial cost incurred by the table and the
> robot kit (since these can be used next year).  If we were to do this, how
> would we figure out the correct amount?  Has anyone encountered such a
> thing?
>
> 3. I suspect that if the team decides that he shouldn't finish out the
> season - she will try to get out of paying for this year.  How have you
> handled this in the past?
>
> Next year the prudent thing to do would be to get the money at the start
> of the season (lesson learned) If you are still with me thank you!  I
> appreciate the feedback!****
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