Being a new coach, it's a natural thing to wonder about.

From my experiences with a number of first-year teams, if you get 3 missions done, you're doing pretty well, especially 4th graders. The official answer, of course, is that there's no right number, but as a parent, you want them to have a positive experience.

But here's the thing: the parents care much more about the scores and the rankings and the number of missions completed than the kids do. The kids will have a blast at the tournament, and they will feel a sense of accomplishment regardless of how many points they get. You'll also be up against other Division 1 teams who may have some experience, so set your expectations accordingly.

We had our first "ah ha!" moment yesterday when my team completed their first mission. They called the rest of the team over, asked them to take a quick break from the things they were working on and see what they did. There were smiles and high-fives all around. This is what it's really about - the competition is just a party to celebrate it all.

Expect that you'll come back enthused and excited for next year, with plenty of time to build on what you've learned this year. It's a great ride.

--Tom

From: First Lego League in Virginia and DC [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Maggie Daniels
Sent: Friday, October 21, 2016 2:17 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [VADCFLL-L] Question from new team regarding missions

Hi Everyone,

I am new to the listserv, so my apologies if this question has come up in the past.  Here it is:

For a team that is new to FLL (4th graders), what is the average number of missions (out of 15) typically completed during the tournament?  While our team is putting in a significant amount of time, they are all new to programming and it is very slow going.  I just want to get a sense of what experienced coaches and judges have seen in the past.

Thank you!

Maggie
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