Re: Dominant teams who are not as dominant as they used to be
 

I assert dominant is more a perception than anything. Winning 1/3 regionals vs 1/30th is significantly MORE dominant. At least the perception.


I still never bet against the BEAST. 11 years and I NEVER bet against them.

Re: Dominant teams who are not as dominant as they used to be
 

So... 2056 or 1114. Wins 3x regionals/year, typically (if they don't it's an off year and they belong in this thread). 3/60 is 1/20.

Compared to 47, winning 1/3 of regionals (but only winning 2 regionals).

Which is more dominant?



There is a way to make a stronger case for 47 being the best team to never win Championships. Actually, two, but one involves Pink winning the event. 47 was dominant in the 90s, which featured a slightly different type of game than these days. 1v1v1, to be exact. When you factor that in, then you have a much stronger case, because every national or world champion since 1999 has had at least one partner, and usually two. Makes it easier... and harder.

Re: Dominant teams who are not as dominant as they used to be
 

As an alum of Team Hammond I would like to say thank you....but it is true we have been in a slump but all slumps end plus we've been getting better this year and are back at the championship I for one say any team that qualifies is doing great.

Re: Dominant teams who are not as dominant as they used to be
 

I don't think it's a stretch to suggest that it doesn't take a big change in team personnel for a once-dominant team to become less dominant. As FRC ages, the top tier of teams is becoming bigger and better. I'm not saying that 71 is building the same caliber of robot that they were in the early 2000s (they could be building better or worse), but you can be sure that today's FRC teams would have given 71 a run for their money during their Championship years had they existed as they do today.

It's easy to look at this lack of dominance as the withering of once-great teams, but in many cases, I don't think it's that at all. One must consider the immense yet steady improvement of FRC as a whole, which I see as great in a better way than won-3-championships-in-4-years great. I'm sorry if I'm interrupting a thread intended for nostalgia, but I hope you find this interjection insightful.

Re: Dominant teams who are not as dominant as they used to be
 

Team 100 used to be quite the powerhouse and seem to be in a small slump. They appear to have worked at bouncing back at SVR though and I can't wait to see what they do next year. :)

Re: Dominant teams who are not as dominant as they used to be
 

Here's what happened to us:
In 2010, we had a ton of really experienced seniors, which greatly contributed to our success that year. However, they all graduated, and we had 0 seniors the next year as part of the core technical team. So, in 2011, it was a few juniors, a few sophomores, and one or two freshmen, and some of those juniors were actually first year FIRSTers. Then in 2012, we only had 2 technical seniors with more than one year behind them, and only one started as a freshman. Essentially, we had no juniors in 2010 to replace our graduating seniors, so much of the knowledge of those graduates was lost. We were left with a 1-2 year experience gap.

Because of our team dynamic, a lack of student experience generally results in subpar robots. Our mentors make almost no robot related decisions and instead give us their opinions, so ultimately, decisions are left to the students. This has its pros and cons, as I've described, but it seems to me that our students graduate with more experience than they may get on other teams.

This year, we had solid experience, but for reasons I will not discuss publicly, our first robot turned out... poorly. During eliminations and closing ceremonies of Sacramento, two other lead mechanical people, our captain, and I decided to spend our spring break redoing the robot. We spent one day on conceptual design, two days on CAD, one day on water jetting at TechShop, two on manufacturing, and one on testing. Given our performance at SVR, I'm happy with our comeback. I'm conflicted about staying up until 6am CADing so we could use the water jet at 9am though...

Right now, the robot has some flaws, but they're mainly either left over from the old robot (AKA the weird and poorly driving drivetrain). Hopefully that'll get redone over the summer, but regardless, this was a good finish to the year (and my last season).

701 seems to be a rising power too. Can't wait to see you next year!

Re: Dominant teams who are not as dominant as they used to be
 

We haven't lost any mentors in recent years (I believe we have actually gained a few). We actually have not won a regional since 2006. Every year since we either got in off the waitlist or qualified from winning the previous year (2008, 2011). Since waitlist invites have declined in recent years, we have not gotten the chance to go. Hopefully our luck turns around in districts :D

Re: Dominant teams who are not as dominant as they used to be
 

Yes, you guys always have top notch robots. Your luck on the other hand, is not so great. Another year because of the regional rules, a powerhouse team doesn't get to go to worlds. I can't wait until all regionals turn into districts. Worlds will finally be like IRI. :)

Re: Dominant teams who are not as dominant as they used to be
 

I would be more interested in hearing the story of middle of the pack teams who have grown to become dominant.

Re: Dominant teams who are not as dominant as they used to be
 

IMO this thread is in bad taste.

I am fine with pointing out teams who have ok performances in the past and really stepped up in the past few years. However, going the other direction seems rude and a bit unnecessary.

Teams peak and valley for numerous reasons. I'm sure any team who may fit into this category is aware of their current performance versus their legacy.


Just my $.02 on the matter.


-Brando

Re: Dominant teams who are not as dominant as they used to be
 

I see your point but there are lessons to be learned from teams following both trajectories.

If this thread offers the opportunity for teams to offer up their stories of why robot competitiveness has decreased, then the community can benefit from this information.

However "nominating" teams that others perceive have declined is definitely too disrespectful for my tastes.

Re: Dominant teams who are not as dominant as they used to be
 

I totally agree. I'm thinking there is probably another way to discuss this without having to pick apart specific teams from a distance.

-Brando

Re: Dominant teams who are not as dominant as they used to be
 

Look no further than the World Champion alliance this year.

Also, I may be biased, but I think in a couple of years, people will be talking about Kansas City area teams as much as Michigan, Ontario, and Texas teams.