From last place to Einstein: Lessons Learned as an FRC Mentor and Coach
Presenter: Anupam Goli, FRC Team 9477
In my seventeen years of doing FRC, I have been a student, a student leader, a mentor and a head coach. Join me as I have a conversation with the audience about the lessons I have learned in my FIRST journey, from finishing last at a competition as a student, to being the head coach of a team that played on the Einstein field at the World Championship, and now the founder and head coach of team 9477. Topics will include: building a team culture, simple and effective project management, developing a team’s technical and soft skills, mentorship techniques and how to learn from failure.
About Anupam
Anupam Goli is an Engineering and Computer Science teacher at Lambert High School in Suwanee, GA. Prior to becoming an educator, he worked as a software engineer and firmware engineer for a few years. He currently holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from Georgia Tech and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Intelligent Robotic Systems from Kennesaw State University. Anupam started doing FRC in 2009 as a student on Team 1002. He then mentored FRC team 1648 from 2013-2018 with the highlights of that time including a district championship win and several trips to the Championship. He then became a mentor and later the headcoach of FRC Team 1746. During his time at FRC 1746, he oversaw the functions and growth of the team through the Covid-19 pandemic and built the program to the pinnacle of winning the Newton division in 2023 and playing on Einstein. He started a new FRC team (9477) at a new school in 2023 and has lead the team to win the Rookie All Star award at the Peachtree District Championship.