🌟 Exciting New Mentor Initiatives for 2025-2026 Season!

Hi Friend,

Thank you for all you do to support and inspire FIRST^® participants. Mentors like you are vital to furthering the mission of FIRST.

In a continued effort to create better recognition, training, and support for these crucial individuals within our robotics community, FIRST is thrilled to launch several NEW initiatives for the 2025-2026 season:

✉️ Team Connectivity feature

👥 Updated team roles and definitions

🛍️ Exclusive FIRST mentor recognition merchandise

🌟 Coming soon! Mentor Ready Training pathway hosted within our new learning management system, FIRST Training

Learn more about each initiative:

✉️ Team Connectivity Feature: Connect with the FIRST community.

Provide a public-facing email address for your team on the FIRST website, allowing mentors, sponsors, and additional supporters to easily find and connect with your team.

How do I add an email? Active FIRST teams can now opt-in by accessing their dashboard communication settings.

Coming soon: teams will also be able to share if they are willing to mentor another team or need mentoring themselves.

Team email and mentoring information will be visible on the Team Search page.

With the recent closure of the FIRST Mentor Network, teams and mentors can now utilize this feature to connect.

👥 Updated Team Roles & Definitions: Accurately reflect each volunteer’s position within your team roster.

Lead Coach Update: Across all FIRST programs, the role of Lead Coach/Mentor 1 or Lead Coach/Mentor 2 will now be designated as Lead Coach 1 and Lead Coach 2. While all team mentors provide unique expertise and leadership critical to a team, Lead Coaches, while still mentors, have additional responsibilities and authority over their team. The definition and responsibilities of these roles have not changed.

NEW Team Volunteer Role: FIRST has created a Team Volunteer role in addition to the Lead Coaches and Mentors to better distinguish the expectations across roles. A Team Volunteer is an individual (18+) who regularly volunteers with and supports the team, but they are not a mentor or a coach. The team may be chaperoned and/or supported in another way by this individual.
The Mentor Role remains unchanged and is for individuals (18+) with technical or non-technical knowledge that teach and assist a team.

Learn more about team roles here.

🛍️ Exclusive FIRST mentor recognition merchandise: FIRST is excited to offer new FIRST Mentor items to help recognize the dedication and contributions of mentors. All available on the FIRST Store.

A FIRST Mentor sweatshirt and FIRST Mentor hat.

FIRST^® AGE™ presented by Qualcomm Coach Mentor pin, and past season coach mentor pins (while supplies last).
FIRST Mentor logo added as an option on U Brand It apparel.

🌟 COMING SOON! Mentor Ready Training: FIRST has created an introductory training consisting of four modules that will equip team mentors with the tools and resources to confidently lead and inspire their teams. This training will be accessible on the new FIRST Training platform (available late July / early August).

Mentor Ready is comprised of four modules: Welcome to FIRST; Youth Protection Training; Data Privacy for Mentors; and Role of a Mentor. You can complete the course all at once or complete one module at a time.

Launching soon, the new FIRST Training platform will be accessible from your FIRST Dashboard by clicking on the ‘My Training’ button on the top right of the dashboard.

Upon completing the Mentor Ready training, you will receive a virtual badge on your FIRST Dashboard account as well as a certificate and badge you can download for your records.

The first 1,000 users during the 2025-2026 season who complete the Mentor Ready training and provide feedback will receive an email to select a gift. Opt-in at the end of the training to receive next steps for your free mentor gift!
Questions? Learn more.

These new initiatives are the beginning of an ongoing focus to improve and expand FIRST mentor training opportunities, valuable mentor recognition, and the mentor experience. Stay tuned for more initiatives that are expected to launch in the future!

We’re looking forward to celebrating the season ahead with you.