I think I have coached my last FLL season as my daughter is an 8th
grader and has her eyes on FTC.( anyone know of a neighborhood FTC
team in the Herndon/Reston/Chantilly area?)
Over my 7 years as a coach and/or mentor, I have found the season to
be too short. The differences between being a rookie team and a
returning team are huge. This is hard on school based teams that
form in September and have to compete in November. Below is a link
to Maryland's schedule where they have regionals in Dec/Jan and the
state tournament at the end of January. (The events that don't say
"FLL" are FRC, the high school competition.)
http://www.mdfirst.org/calendar-of-events.html
This schedule would allow kids to do a lot more in a season. There
would still be schedule conflicts in January, but it would be
easier for the kids to juggle their activities with a longer prep
season.
Donna Cornwell
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On 12/5/2011 3:27 PM, Paul K. VanDamme wrote:
So I never comment on these boards...but I can't
resist this topic....this is a horrible weekend because of all the
countless conflicts that exist with folks trying to squeeze in
final performances, tournaments, etc between the holidays.
This year half our team was missing because they were performing
in the nutcracker, something they rehearse for all summer and
fall. It showed that we only had three girls, but what are you
going to do -- for active kids that do more than just lego
robotics....there are always choices.
I for one would be in favor of moving it out of December (which is
just ridiculously busy), but I suspect other months will have
similar conflicts for people.
Carolyn
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