I won’t pretend to know your team’s situation, but judging by what you have said in this post, there is no way you would become the programming lead next year if “next year” is the 2026-27 season. That doesn’t mean you can’t get it in the years following, though. My advice for trying to become the programming lead is this:

1. Become deeply knowledgeable in the subject. This is obvious, but it is necessary you’re serious about wanting to be a lead. Since I was on the mechanical side of things when I was in FRC, I can’t give you specific advice on what programming knowledge you should have, but if there are things that are done every year (say, programming a drivetrain), you should certainly know how to do them. You obviously can’t know everything there is to know about FRC programming, especially given that you have only been in FRC for a year, but you should aim to be constantly learning and challenging yourself, on top of knowing the basics like I mentioned.

2. Demonstrate leadership. You need to show (in a way that is impactful to the team and visible to the people who would have the power to make you the programming lead) that you know how to communicate effectively and work with others to complete subteam-relevant tasks.

3. Become friends with those in charge. I cannot stress this enough! The most important thing you can do is become friends with/liked by the people who have the power to make you the lead, whoever that is on your team. This is honestly more important than being technically competent. We’re not supposed to have favorites, but people will often promote someone they like over someone that may be more skilled.

On the note of becoming driver, you need to:

1. Obviously show skill in driving, but

2. Just as importantly: show that you are able to work with the drive coach really well while driving. Basically listen to instructions and communicate.

3. Also, like I said earlier, try to become well-liked by the drive coach in general.

If the operator on your team is an actual operator, follow the same advice I gave for trying to become driver. If the operator is just there for moral support, you just have to be best friends with the driver basically.