Introduction

Welcome to the Saline FIRST Robotics community, and thank you for volunteering to coach a FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Challenge team. Coaching is a significant commitment, but we are confident that you will find it to be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life. As FIRST co-founder Dean Kamen said, “We’re not building robots, we’re using robots to build kids.”

While our Saline FLL teams are often fiercely competitive, and enjoy a high degree of success at regional and state competitions, our primary goal is to teach children that they can achieve anything by identifying a meaningful problem, creating a solid plan, and working diligently with a dedicated team.

Central to the FLL experience are the FIRST Core Values. These values are the guiding principles that shape our program and are crucial for every team to embrace.

FIRST Core Values

• Discovery: We explore new skills and ideas.
• Innovation: We use creativity and persistence to solve problems.
• Impact: We apply what we learn to improve our world.
• Inclusion: We respect each other and embrace our differences.
• Teamwork: We are stronger when we work together.
• Fun: We enjoy and celebrate what we do!
• Gracious Professionalism: We encourage high quality work, emphasize the value of others, and respect individuals and the community.

FIRST competition types

FIRST has several different types of competitions, and their similar naming can be confusing. Here's a quick overview of the distinctions in Michigan. Other states, and indeed, other nations, have different age ranges that are included in each competition.

• FIRST LEGO League (FLL) Discover - Preschool
• FLL Explore (FLL-E) - Kindergarten through 3rd grade
• FLL Challenge (FLL-C) - 4th-5th grade
• FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) - 6th-8th grade, no LEGO here
• FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) - High school, big, fast, expensive robots

Saline's competition types

At Saline we currently have one FLL-E team, comprising 2nd and 3rd graders. We have four FLL-C teams, four FTC teams, and one FRC team.

FLL teams

The FLL team names are:

• RoboBuzz (FLL-E)
• RoboHornets
• RoboSting
• RoboHive
• RoboSwarm

Contributing to this handbook

If you would like to add or modify information in this handbook, feel free to fork the repository, make your changes, and submit a pull request. Another option is to submit an Issue.

Finally, while the above two options are the preferred methods of contributing to the handbook, if you're not into github, just email or message Jeremy to suggest additions and changes.

As a club, we need this handbook to be as useful as possible. Our goal is to help all coaches, especially new coaches, to recognize and locate resources they'll need to help the kids feel successful and learn. While it is unavoidably true that FLL coaching is a lot of work, we want out coaches to feel well-supported and well-prepared, and to help them carry out their responsibilities with as little extra work as possible. So, reach out whenever you find yourself thinking, "I wish I knew..."

Starting Your Team

Welcome to the new season! One of your first tasks as a coach is to reach out to the parents of your team members. This initial communication is crucial for setting expectations and ensuring a smooth and successful season.

You'll need to inform parents about the weekly practice schedule, emphasizing that these are required and letting them know the practice start date. It's also important to give them a heads-up about potential competition dates. While we won't know the exact dates until mid-season, they should be advised to keep the first and second weekends of December available.

Also, be sure to explain that while the weekly practices are mandatory, there will be several optional extra practices throughout the season. These sessions are designed to help the team be more competitive and feel a sense of accomplishment by the end of the season.

Sample Welcome Email

Here is a sample email you can adapt and send to your team's parents. Remember to replace the bracketed information with your specific details.

Subject: Welcome to the Saline FLL team [Team Name]

Dear Parents,

Welcome to the [Year] FIRST LEGO League season! I am the head coach for the [Team Name], and I am thrilled to have your child on our team. My phone number is [Phone Number].

This season promises to be an exciting journey of discovery, teamwork, and fun. We will be holding mandatory weekly practices on [Days of the week] from [Start Time] to [End Time] at Saline Middle School in the Media Center. Practices will begin promptly at [Start Time], so please ensure your child arrives on time. Please escort your child into the school every practice until you verify that two adult coaches are present. Once you've verified two coaches are present, you may leave.

While we do not have the exact dates for the competitions yet, they typically occur in early December. Please pencil in the first and second weekends of December for the regional competition. Should our team advance, the state competition is usually held on the second or third weekend of December. I recognize how difficult it is to set aside most of December for potential FLL competitions, but unfortunately, this is simply what we are forced to do every year.

Throughout the season, we will schedule several optional extra practices. These are not required but are highly encouraged to help the team be as prepared and successful as possible. We will provide more details on these as the season progresses.

Our primary goal is to foster a love of learning and problem-solving in a collaborative and supportive environment. We will be guided by the FIRST Core Values, and we expect all team members to do the same.

We are looking forward to a fantastic season with your children!

Best regards,

[Your Name]

Season Syllabus: August - December 2025

This syllabus outlines the major milestones for the FLL season.

• Late August: Season Kickoff! Teams are formed, and coaches receive their rosters. Coaches should contact their teams to introduce themselves and establish a regular practice schedule.
• Week of August 25: First practices. Focus on team-building activities and introduce the annual challenge. Begin brainstorming for the Innovation Project.
• September 10, 7:00-8:00 PM: Expert interview with Professor Natalie Abell, Ph.D., a professor of archaeology at the University of Michigan. All available teammates and coaches should attend, as this is a prime opportunity to learn about potential problems for the Innovation Project.
• September: Continue to work on the Innovation Project and begin building and programming the robot. NOTE: it is helpful to get your team's base robot built as quickly as possible. Prior to having that robot, the kids have infinite impossible ideas about what the robot can do. Once it's built they start to think more concretely about what is actually possible and useful.
• October: Develop and refine the robot's design and programming. A good plan for how the robot will perform the robot game should be coming together mid-late October. Finalize the Innovation Project and prepare the presentation.
• November: Practice, practice, practice! Run the robot on a practice table, refine the innovation project and robot design presentations, and ensure all team members are confident in their roles.
• Early December (Typically the first or second Saturday): Regional Competition.
• Mid-December (Typically the second or third weekend): State Competition (for advancing teams).

Anatomy of a Competition Day

FLL competitions are high-energy, all-day events that are both challenging and incredibly fun. Here’s what you and your team can expect:

• Arrival and Pit Setup: Coaches arrive early in the morning to check in and set up their "pit" area. This is the team's home base for the day, where teammates can practice, make adjustments to their robot, and relax between judging sessions and matches.

• Judging Session: There is a single judging session, which accounts for 75% of a team's overall score, so prepare your team well!

  • More judging session information can be found in the Judging session scoring rubrics section

• Robot Game Matches: Teams will compete in four 2.5-minute robot game matches throughout the day. The goal is to score as many points as possible by having their autonomous robot complete missions on the game field.

  • Rules for the robot game can be found in the "Resources" section of the FIRST in Michigan website

• Lunch and Downtime: There will be a break for lunch. There is often fairly little downtime at competition, so keep the teammates close by between robot runs and judging.

• Awards Ceremony: The day concludes with an awards ceremony where teams are recognized for their achievements in the various judged areas and robot game performance.

Competition Dates:

• Regional Competition: Typically held on the first or second Saturday in December.
• State Competition: For advancing teams, this is usually held during the second or third weekend of December.

Judging sessions

The team's success at competition is primarily determined by their ability to speak with confidence and competence to adult judges, without any help from coaches. This is the judging session, during which the team will earn 75% of their overall score at competition.

In the past, our teams have typically prepared large tri-fold boards for the presentations in front of judges. One side contains information about their robot design process, and the other has information about their innovation project process. Here's an image of the "Innovation Project" side one of RoboHive's past "Big Board":

Note the clearly defined sections, designed to make it very hard for judges to miss that we've included everything they're looking for in their rubrics on the board:

• Identify
• Design
• Create
• Iterate
• Communicate

Consult the rubrics to calibrate the information your team should place on each side.

Judges should adhere to the judging session schedule during the judging session. Coaches must familiarize themselves with the schedule and train their team to adhere to it during judging practice sessions.

Below is a link to the scoring rubrics from the 2024 FLL season. These will give you a good understanding of what the judges will be looking for during the competition.

The link will be updated when the 2025 season materials are available.

2024 Judging session rubrics

Items teams must bring to judging sessions

1. Big board
2. Their robot and attachments
3. Binder containing team info sheet and printed code
4. Innovation project
5. Scripts for their 5-minute presentations on both robot design and innovation project

Expectations of Coaches

This section outlines the expectations for coaches, including managing resources, maintaining shared spaces, and other administrative responsibilities. In the table below, we describe a the things that Jeremy will handle for you (and may ask for help with occasionally) vs. what you as a coach must handle. This is not intended to be a comprehensive list, but rather, is meant to set some basic expectations.

Youth Protection and Two-Deep Mentorship

The safety and well-being of our students are our highest priority. To create a safe and accountable environment, we adhere to a strict two-deep mentorship policy. All coaches are required to follow these guidelines without exception.

Two-deep Mentorship

Under no circumstances should a coach ever be alone with either a single student, or a group of students. There must always be at least two adults present. This policy protects both the students and our volunteer coaches.

Texting

Many students have their own cell phones and may attempt to text you. Although, as a matter of practice, texting directly with teammates is to be discouraged, if this does happen, you must let their parent and the child know that any texts to or from the child must have the parent on the text thread as well. As a matter of principle, if a parent and child are both on the text thread, this is fine. But again, as a matter of practice, texting directly with a teammate is discouraged.

Handling Private Conversations

There may be times when you need to have a private conversation with a student, such as for a reprimand or to discuss a sensitive issue. To maintain transparency and safety, these conversations must be handled in one of two ways:

1. In the Open: The discussion can take place in an area set apart from the main group but still in full view of the other people in the media center.
2. With a Second Adult: If more privacy is required, you may use one of the glass rooms at the back of the media center. However, a second adult must accompany you and the student into the room.

Drop-Off and Pick-Up Procedures

To ensure the two-deep mentorship rule is followed from the very start of practice, coaches must enforce the following drop-off procedure:

• Parent Escort: Parents must walk their child into the media center at drop-off.
• Confirming Two Adults: The parent must verify that at least two coaches are present before they leave.
• Parent Must Wait: If a parent arrives and only one coach is present, the parent is required to stay until a second coach or another designated adult arrives.

Maintaining Shared Space

All of the following are tasks we expect coaches to delegate to the teammates. They must learn to take care of our equipment and space, and this is fundamental to that learning.

Team/coach clean-up checklist

• All trash and recycling generated during practice cleaned up
• All LEGO put in correct storage bins
• All club computers placed into vertical rack in roll-up cabinet
• All charging cables neatly wrapped and in roll-up cabinet
• 1 Team art supplies container on correct shelf along back wall of storage room
• 2 Team bins on correct shelf along back wall of storage room
• Robot game boads placed against wall in robotics room
• If not taking your team's robot home to experiment, robot is charging on top shelf of roll-up cabinet
• Lock roll-up cabinet
• Lock storage room door
• Lock robotics room door from hallway
• Leave, dream about robots tonight

Team Bins

At the end of each practice, it is the responsibility of the coaches to ensure that their team's two designated bins are neatly placed on their assigned shelves in the storage room. While teammates should be encouraged to perform these cleanup tasks, coaches must verify that the space is left organized. In the past, the shared space has become disorganized, creating frustration for everyone. Responsible management of our shared space is critical.

Robot Game Boards

The robot game boards must be neatly lined up against the wall for the robotics room at the end of practice.

Computers

Computers must be placed neatly in their vertical storage slots, and their charging cables either plugged into the laptops, or neaty wrapped and placed in the roll-up cabinet in the robotics room.

LEGO

All unused LEGO is picked up, including off the floors, and placed in the correct yellow container of the cart we use to move LEGO.

Robots

Robots should be stored on the top shelf of the roll-up cabinet in the robotics room.

Locking Up

If you are the last coach with a key leaving for the evening, you must lock the storage room and the robotics room on your way out of the school

Managing Resources

Our club has a significant collection of LEGOs for teams to use. However, with four teams sharing these resources, coaches must ensure their team is using only its fair share. In the past, we have run out of commonly-used lego pieces, such as black pins, which should never happen. For some less commonly-used pieces, when we run low, it is the coaches' responsibility to let Jeremy know so that he can order more. Please monitor your team's use of shared LEGOs, and the club's stock of LEGO, so that all teams can have a positive experience.

Each team is entitled to the following:

• Two Spike Prime hubs
• Four small motors
• Four large motors
• Four light sensors

Please do not use more than your allotted share of the above items. The above list comprises the necessary elements to build two identical robots. We typically recommend teams build two identical robots. This allows each team to program robot missiong in parallel, and it provides robustness on competition day. Sometimes a hub fails. You don't want your team to be without a functioning robot at competition!

Our club has two folding robot game tables and one flat table that must be carried by two people to the tables in the media center, and clamped to the tables to be flattened. Two of our teams' regularly-scheduled practices are on Monday/Wednesday, and two are on Tuesday/Thursday.

• Your team is only entitled to use a folding table on your regularly-scheduled practice day! If your team has extra practice scheduled on other teams' regular practice days, plan to use the flat table, leaving the folding table to the other two teams.

Innovation project resources

Teams must decide what extra items they need to purchase to build their innovation project. Our club has sufficient financial resources that a team can spend up to $400 on their innovation project, if necessary. If your team needs to spend more, please consult with Jeremy. He may request that you seek sponsors to donate funds to help fund the club.

Special LEGO pieces

There are certain specialized LEGO pieces that should only be used in special cases, whereas other LEGO pieces that are less expensive can be used in most other cases.

• Friction-free pins are used when pinning an item that must be able to rotate freely around the axis defined by the pin. The standard black pins we have are not friction-free. The gray and yellow pins are friction free, and should only be used when rotation is desired. For all other applications, black pins should be used.

• 2-axis beams are extremely useful for changing the axis along which you're pinning LEGO. We have a handful of 2-axis beams. Kids typically do not recognize the distinction between the 2-axis beams and a standard beam, for which all holes align along the same axis. If you see your teammates using 2-axis beams when a single-axis beam will work, direct them to use the single-axis beam instead. For reference, single axis beams are about 4 cents per piece, wherease 2-axis beams cost about 20 cents per piece.

Example image of 2-axis beam:

Example image of single-axis beam:

Reserving the Media Center for Extra Practices

To reserve the middle school media center for extra practices (usually on Saturdays), please determine the desired dates and times as early as possible. Email Laurie Dawson (dawsonl@salineschools.org) with a list of all requested dates and times, along with the names of the adults and children who will be present. Laurie will confirm the reservations or let you know if the space is unavailable.

Expectations of Teammates

This section outlines the behavioral expectations for all team members. Coaches should foster an environment of respect among teammates.

Code of Conduct

All team members are expected to adhere to the Saline Heritage Elementary FIRST LEGO League Code of Conduct. If a team member consistently causes issues or repeatedly fails to comply with the Code of Conduct, coaches have the authority to call parents for early pickup from practice, suspend the child from practice, or, in serious cases, expel the teammate from the team.

By the end of the second week of practice, all parents and teammates must read, sign, and return the Code of Conduct.

You can find the Code of Conduct here

Coaching Resources

This section provides a collection of resources accumulated over the years to help simplify coaching and enhance the learning experience for your team.

Example recipes for season success

The below example google sheets are resources we've come up with over the past several years which we've found to be very helpful in organizing and executing a successful season. You are STRONGLY ENCOURAGED to copy the entirety of each workbook and make updates for your own team's use.

Aaron Atkinson's FLL recipe

Aaron was a very successful FLL coach for several years, and he gathered notes we all took over our years of coaching and compiled them into this google sheet.

Of particular note are the "Core Values", "Innovation Project", "Robot Design", and "Presentation" tab.

Note the "Schedule" tab, which you should copy and paste into your own team's workbook to ensure you're hitting milestones when you need.

Of course it is up to you to decide how you want to run your team, but these have been useful in the past.

Aaron's worksheets for Identify and Design phases

Here is the workbook with sheets for various purposes. Overall, the worksheets are helpful tools for getting the kids to think critically about how the robot should interact with models to earn points, and what type of robot should be built. The major idea here is to get the kids to gather data, and make decisions based on the evidence. Keep the worksheets they've filled out and put them on the big boards for judging. This data-based decision making will be part of their story in front of judges.

Programming a robot

Helpful terms we use:

• Robot launch: A launch is when, during the robot run a teammate will push a button to send the robot out the score some points. The robot should come bace to either the left or right launch/home areas. A robot run will comprise multiple robot launches. Launches are autonomous, aside from the teammates placing the robot into a launch area and pushing the buttons to initiate the correct launch.
• Robot run: a single 2.5 minute period in which the robot will score as many points as possible.

Helping the kids make a good plan

Like anything else, writing a good robot run program starts with a good plan. We have started using a programming card game to help gameify plan-making for robot runs. See the pdf for the cards.

The concept we are trying to teach here is that almost every action the robot takes costs something, but some actions are very helpful (the action is well-controled, precise, and is likely to result in success) and some actions can be fairly harmful (imprecise and likely to lead to significant error during a robot launch). Actions that are precise either decrease overall score, or add very few points. Actions that imprecise increase score more dramatically. Lowest scoring plan wins.

Have the kids build toy programs for a robot launch using the cards. In building a program with a low score, they'll have made a good starting plan! Keep these plans (maybe glue them to a sheet) to place them on the big board. Then, they can implement their plan in Pybricks Code.

Coding using Pybricks

We are using Pybricks Code for the first time this year to program our robots.

Pybricks code

You can find your team's pybricks licence here. All coaches should have "Viewer" permissions, so if you do not have permission to view the file, contact Jeremy to get it.

Please consider taking a simple bot home with you and reading through the pybricks guide to get you started!

We also have some simple example scripts that can be dowloaded from google drive and read into pybricks' web interface to help get you started. To get a feel for a codebase that might be useful at competition, where your team will have several "launches" in a single 2.5 minute run, look in this google drive folder and start by reading the README google doc, following its instructions and experimenting with a robot. Be sure to investigate the "setup" section of launch1.py

Our four teams typically share code snippets frequently for commonly-used routines such as line following or squaring off to a line. Please upload useful routines your team designs to the google drive above if you think the other three teams would benefit from them!

Reimbursement of Expenses

Coaches can be reimbursed for team-related expenses and should expect to spend between tens to low-hundreds of dollars on supplies for the Innovation Project.

Important: You cannot be reimbursed for tax. If you wish to make a tax-free purchase, please contact Jeremy Schroeder at saline.fll@gmail.com. He can work with the school to facilitate the purchase, which can result in significant savings.

To get reimbursed, follow this instruction guide.

Who do I contact for...

• Tax-free purchases and general FLL questions:
  • Jeremy Schroeder: saline.fll@gmail.com
• Reserving the middle school media center:
  • Laurie Dawson: dawsonl@salineschools.org

Links to FIRST Resources

For team management. Jeremy will do much of this for you, but he will occasionally let you know when you need to take action via your FIRST dashboard to ensure your team can participate in competition.

• FIRST Dashboard

The FIRST in Michigan website is a wealth of information. At this site you can find rulebooks, judging rubrics, event readiness information, and team event assignments for regional and state competitions.

• FIRST in Michigan

YouTube Videos and Channels

• FIRST LEGO League Official YouTube Channel
• BrickWise YouTube Channel
• Zachary Trautwein YouTube Channel
• GoPro video of a RoboSwarm robot run at competition
• Pre-season video of a team doing some Unearthed models