Mentors and Coaches
FIRST® mentors and coaches support over half a million students across the globe a year. As a mentor or coach of a FIRST team, you help inspire and empower students to be innovators. You're working side by side with FIRST participants to build their leadership and problem-solving skills and, more importantly, their sense of belonging and self-confidence. Your contribution to the success of FIRST programs is immeasurable.
As a mentor or coach you can:
- Teach others what you know
- Be inspired by the students
- Give back to your community
- Build your own skills and resume
Our mentors and coaches are people from all backgrounds and disciplines who share their knowledge, whether it is technical or non-technical. They support the team with subject matter expertise on an as needed basis including assisting the team with topics such as programming questions, building skills, scholarships, business management, marketing, or fundraising. Coaches and mentors are also role models and advisers who helps foster Gracious Professionalism® and FIRST Core Values in our students.
Mentors or Coaches can be:
- FIRST alumni
- Community members and leaders
- Parents
- Teachers/Professors
- Professionals (technical or non-technical)
- Employees of corporate sponsors
- College students and faculty
- Friends and family members of students
Get Started
Join one of our teams across the world or start your own team to build up the next generation of innovators as a FIRST mentor or coach. Whether you have technical or non-technical skills and talents to share, you can bring value to FIRST students.
Check out our Coach Mentor Checklist for more information and detailed walkthrough of the registration process.
Start a Team
- FIRST LEGO League Discover, Explore or Challenge
- FIRST Tech Challenge
- FIRST Robotics Competition
- Connect with your Local Partner
Join an Existing Team
- Find Teams in your area
- Mentor Remotely (see FIRST Mentor Network below)
The FIRST Mentor Network
From finding their people to finding their path, mentors help students gain the skills and confidence to forge ahead and build their future with FIRST. And now, more than ever, we need to empower and foster the next generation of innovators to feel hopeful and build a better future. The FIRST Mentor Network is an interactive platform allowing mentors to find FIRST teams to work with virtually or face to face, locally or across the country, for a few hours or for a season. Learn more and create your mentor profile today!
Questions or comments? volunteer@firstinspires.org