2026, Presentation, Project Management
The Case for Caring: Why Competition Matters Presenter: Michael Corsetto (1678) Key Takeaway: Building better robots builds better people, both your students and yourself. “The Case for Caring: Why Competition Matters” studies how a mentor’s genuine...
2026, Leadership, Presentation
Training our student leads to be the S.A.L.T. of your team. Presenter: Sam Robinson (4488) Key Takeaway: Student leaders can either enhance or destroy a team member’s experience. Lets make it enhancing. Student leadership is a vitally important part of our...
2026, Presentation, Team Management
The Century Club: A Blueprint for Long-Term Mentor Retention Presenter: Sohini Stone (3501) Key Takeaway: Retaining mentors requires intentional onboarding, clear expectations, and a supportive community. Keep mentors coming back! Drawing from our team’s 100+ years of...
2026, Presentation, Software
Thumbs on the Sticks: Designing Intuitive Control Systems for Your Driver Presenter: Eugene Fang (604) Key Takeaway: Driver UX should be treated as a day-one priority, not as an afterthought. A highly capable robot is only as effective as the driver operating it. In...
2026, Presentation, Team Culture, Team Management
Using Team-Awareness to Strengthen Culture, Leadership, Brand & Awards Presenters: Cathy Schulz (1538) & Elise Cronin-Hurley (1902) Key Takeaway: Team-awareness is your most powerful strategy. Build an innate practice of team culture and impact. Before you can...
2026, Mechanical, Presentation
The 90 Degree Problem Presenter: Orion DeYoe (2713) Key Takeaway: A rich toolbox of design shortcuts and options for mechanical connections. Are you struggling with designing compact structures? Designing angled connections is subtly one of the most difficult aspects...
2026, Presentation, Project Management
Spreadsheets: a powerful FRC Project Management tool Presenters: Nick Hammes (3501) Shelby Anderson (581) Key Takeaway: Spreadsheets are powerful, and by customizing you can help your students focus on the right problems. In this 45 minute session, learn tips and...
2026, Presentation, Team Management
0 to 581: Moving From A Club To A Team Presenter: Shelby Anderson (581) Key Takeaway: At least 2-3 tangible steps that can be applied to any team to better achieve their team’s goals. Making changes within an existing team can be uniquely challenging due to...
2026, Fundraising, Presentation
“Money, Money, Money!” – Fundraising and Sponsors Panel: Dimple Ravuri (1671) Key Takeaway: Learn to diversify income sources and how students can play a major role in managing team finances. This workshop goes over many different potential income sources for...
2026, Mechanical, Presentation
3D Printing for Creating Robust Robot Parts Presenter: John Hajel (5507) Key Takeaway: 3D printing can produce fast, strong, reliable FRC parts with the right materials and design. This 45-minute session helps FRC mentors launch or scale 3D printing. Geared to...
2026, Presentation, Team Management
Crafting Canon – Using a Branding Mentality to Foster a Resilient Team Culture Panel: Tommy Smeltzer (1138) Key Takeaway: Being intentional with designed messaging can create a consistent culture of belonging for students. A fun, inclusive and inspirational team...
2026, Presentation, Scouting & Strategy
Pick Lists and Match Strat: what has to happen at events Presenter: Steve Kaneb (2910) Key Takeaway: Establish roles & responsibilities to remove stress from pre-match strategy and alliance selection. Your picklist meeting shouldn’t take more than an hour,...
2026, Presentation, Project Management
5 robots in 10 weeks: Designing Workflows for Rapid Iteration Presenter: Emilio Parra (3847) Key Takeaway: Combine new tools with simple rules to eliminate build season bottlenecks. Behind every efficient build season is a shop culture built on clear pipelines and...
2026, Presentation, Software
2027 Control System: Systemcore and WPILib Presenter: Peter Johnson (WPILib) Key Takeaway: 2027 brings major software changes; RoboRIO replaced with Systemcore. Did you know that the 2026 FRC season was the last season for the RoboRIO? A new more powerful FRC...
2026, Marketing, Presentation, Social Media
How to get Millions of Views, Achieving Virality in FIRST Presenter: Eli Uva (3255) Key Takeaway: Learn how to follow the steps to create viral content for FRC an team, and what to do with a platform. Teaching the audience how to create sustainable social media...
2026, Electrical, Presentation
Robot Reliability: RJ45 connections, Signal Level Power Wiring, and a Hot Take on Battery Warming Presenter: Shane Trent (Ironclad Owls, TerrorBytes, GearCats (6500), North Carolina) Key Takeaway: Attendees will learn how to make RJ45, sensor power, and battery...
2026, Presentation, Team Culture, Team Management
Building Resilience: Team Retention and Sustainability Presenter: Amanda Little and Elise Cronin-Hurley (1902) Key Takeaway: Build stronger processes & deeper benches. Spend more time doing what you love with your students.. A discussion on methods, barriers, and...
2026, Event Logistics, Presentation
Are you match ready? Presenter: Evan Forbes (Nexus Robotics Foundation) Key Takeaway: Mentors will be able to better prepare their drive teams to improve their experience at events. Learn the details that will help your drive team set up for matches like pros....
2026, Presentation, Team Management
Empowering Student Leadership: How to Run a 90+ Student Team with Fewer Mentors Presenter: Michael Leicht (1403) Key Takeaway: Build team culture and empower student leaders using tiered structures, mindset shifts, and systems training. Managing a massive robotics...
2026, Outreach, Presentation
“SOS” – Outreach Without (that much) Burnout Presenter: Dimple Ravuri (1671) Key Takeaway: Plan area-specific outreach events with structure, and get parent buy-in to lessen your burden. Outreach may seem daunting, but with a dedicated team of students and...
2026, Mechanical, Presentation
PenguinCAM: from CAD to CNC in literally 1 minute! Presenter: Josh Sirota (6238) Key Takeaway: PenguinCAM replaces scary, error-prone, and time-consuming CAM tools from your manufacturing process. A CNC router should not be more difficult than a laser cutter or 3D...
2026, AI, Panel
Navigating the AI Era: Debating Artificial Intelligence and Student Learning in FRC Panel facilitated by Sohini Stone (3501) Key Takeaway: Maximize AI’s potential in FRC while safeguarding authentic student learning and core FIRST values. Artificial Intelligence...
2026, Panel, Team Management
Sibling Team Panel: Scaling Your Program Panel facilitated by Isriah Keila (321) Key Takeaway: Sibling teams come in many shapes and sizes – don’t assume you’ve seen them all! Join sibling teams and experienced coaches as they explore managing...
2026, Panel, Team Management
If I started a team today, this is what I’d do: Two perspectives on team organization and management Panelists: Mike Corsetto (1678), Shelby Anderson (581), moderated by Melissa Smith (FIRST BOD) Key Takeaway: There are many ways to organize a team, come and learn...
