Drive team stress?
 

I'm going to be my teams driver this year, and after driving in last year's exhibition match in KC, the stress kept building up. For those of you who are on or have been on your team's drive team, how do you deal with the stress that ensues?

Re: Drive team stress?
 

One thing that you need to remember is that you are your team's driver for a reason. Whether it is because you are the best driver, or you put in the most work, or however your team picks their drivers, you need to remember that your team is behind you no matter what happens. If the stress gets to you, take a minute to leave the pits, sit in the stands and just take a deep breath. Remember that FIRST is supposed to be fun and you shouldn't be stressed out over it.

Re: Drive team stress?
 

Personally i thrive in stressful situations and have been in them numerous points during my life. But one thing that always helps is to eat,:) eat slightly not enough to get you sick or anything but eating does help

Re: Drive team stress?
 

After enough matches you get used to the stress. You just have to remember to say calm and do what you practiced. Also avoid drinking energy drinks/soda before the match, because that tends to make it worse.

Re: Drive team stress?
 

It's already been mentioned, but I'll reiterate it. The driver was picked for a reason. If they did not trust your judgement, you would not be driver. Don't dwell on it. I've been driver for two years now, and even though we haven't won all our matches, I don't stress out over specific decisions or situations that I will be in/have been in.

Re: Drive team stress?
 

That's another great point. You're simply not going to win every single one of your matches. Even some of the greatest seasons in FRC history were not undefeated seasons. Don't dwell on a loss, learn from it.

Re: Drive team stress?
 

As it was said, your team picked you for a reason. Your the one down on the field that has to make the split-second desicisions. Your the driver, and you know what your doing, and what your robots real strenghts are. I was a driver for 2-3 years on an FRC team and 2 years on an FTC Team. For me, After every match, I usually had to sit down, breath, and calm down. Just find a spot and go there everytime, away from the rest of the team.

I know with my team, sometimes one or two people wouldnt aggree with what I did during the match, and it may happen to you, but you have to remember that your the driver, you have the best view of whats happening on the ground floor.

Most importantly, have fun when your down there! Not alot of team memebers get to go onto the real playing field. It's FIRST, your suppose to have fun!

I aggree with the energy drink comment too... it never sat well my first year of FRC driving.

Re: Drive team stress?
 

In anything in life, remember that no one honestly wants to see you fail, and for the .1% that might, they're not worth your time anyways. FIRST is an environment that will bring out anxiety that everyone has in them. When you give a speech, your audience wants to see you succeed. When you take a test for a class, the teacher wants to see you ace it. When a team selects a driver, the team think's they've already found a winner-you. The first thought yo ushould have in your head isn't "the team is counting on me," but "the team believes in me." It's a subtle difference in writing but the second one instills you with confidence instead of enabling fear.

Re: Drive team stress?
 

After doing this for this for so many years, being in the driver station as a coach doesn't even phase me- it's just another match. At the same time I was the driver for my own team in high school and I know how stressful it can be. Just remember to focus on the machine and the task at hand. Try not to think about "what happens if I win/fail" or the loud music and distractions those are for the rest of your team to worry about.

Also remember that you have other people with you in the driver's station- your coach and co-drivers along with your alliance partners' coaches and codrivers. These people need to be helping you along by watching the field and giving direction when needed. As a driver you can't be expected to keep track of everything going on during a match- you need to be focussed on your machine so these people need to be your eyes and ears for the gameplay around you. For example: If you are fumbling around trying to make a last assist of the match, your co-drivers/coach needs to be watching the clock and if you're running out of time, communicate this to you so you can ramjam the ball into the low goal or fire it into high to end the cycle before the match ends.

Also be sure you get together with your alliance partners before a match and decide on a strategy. Having a clear definition of what is expected of your robot from your alliance partners will allow you to focus on one role rather than running around aimlessly during a match. Things are always easier when you have clear direction.

Stay away from caffeine and sugar, drink lots of water, eat well and get lots of sleep are the best ways to keep stress down.

Re: Drive team stress?
 

There is a certain amount of stress that is a constant when on a team's driveteam, or really, any crucial team role while at a competition. One of the best ways to lessen the burden of any of those roles is to eliminate any unnecessary stress that you can, and then focus on what you're there to do.

Here are a few tips based on what I've learned over the years, some of which may or may not apply to your situation:

- A robot can be fixed, but a match cannot be replayed. There is nothing worse than playing a match and losing because you limited yourself out of fear of damaging your robot. One good match like this can eat away at you for the rest of the competition.

- You will make the best decision that you can make with the information you're given, in the time allotted. Looking back on my own experience, when I was younger, I had a tendency to let my actions eat away at me, thinking about what I could have done differently, or better. Now I've come to realize that I made the best decision that I could, and that if that decision was the wrong one, it was because I needed more information, to think for an extra half a second, etc, etc. If you make a bad decision, learn from it, but don't beat yourself up.

- Trust those around you, even if you think they may not be as good as you. As a drive team member, you should actively avoid micromanaging every robot related task, unless you really need to. No reason to change the battery, fix something, etc, etc, if someone else can do the job. Sure, they may not do it as fast, but if it gets done right, and on time, who cares? Giving up some of those other jobs will add up over time, and you'll start to see that your stress is going down.

- Keep an open mind, take advice, criticism, whatever, and actually think about it. If you're actively open to people's advice (especially those on your team) it can help to improve your performance, while also lessening the odds of someone coming down on you hard after a bad match. If you make your entire team feel engaged in what goes on while you're on the field, they'll have a tendency to support, more often than blame. (If your team is that kind of team, again, these are general.)

- Don't be afraid to take a break, ask for support, vent, etc. I've seen a lot of people (myself included) take their job too seriously, and not just sit down and watch a match or something. When I was a driver (a long time ago) it took me the better part of forever to learn how to walk away for 5 minutes, look at the sky, think about nothing, and come back - but once I learned how to do that, my job became so much easier.

- Leave it all on the field. Go out to each of your matches as if it is the last one you'll ever play. Do not hold back, do not over think, do not hesitate, just drive. If you put everything into each of your performances, you may find that it eases the pressure that you'll place on yourself to perform. If you know that you gave your all, and you lost, then so be it - but if you held back, and lost, then you might beat yourself up over it.

- Go with the flow. Don't fight battles that aren't worth fighting - you'll have enough battles to fight on the field. If someone wants to start their robot 3" to the left of yours, and it doesn't hurt you in any way, but it's a deviation from the plan, just roll with it. I've seen way too many people get worked up over little things that don't actually matter.

Oh, and don't forget to have fun. Yes, being a driver is a serious job. Yes, you're responsible for your teams fate as far as winning and losing is concerned. Does that mean you can't have fun? No. Be goofy, laugh, smile, make friends, do weird stuff, hug your robot, dance when you're announced for a match, whatever. The more fun you have, the less stressed you'll be - I promise.

Re: Drive team stress?
 

This is going to sound tacky but the most important thing is to have fun. It's really hard to be stressed in a bad way while you're smiling and having a great time.

Keep in mind that you're not alone out there, in addition to the other drive team members standing next to you all the people involved in selecting you as driver are backing you. They selected you because you are the best, therefore you are the best.

When you're on the field there's only one question that matters, Is XYZ going to change how I play the game? If it's an elims match or a qual match, going to play to win either way, doesn't matter. Other alliance is stacked or didn't show up, going to play to win either way, doesn't matter.

tl;dr: Go out there, do what you do, have fun, come home.

Re: Drive team stress?
 

One thing that I have always found important is to drink water, eat during lunch break, and sit down occasionally. It is easy to get caught up in the events and get dehydrated. Lunch break offers a time to repair to robot and talk strategy. But don't forget to actually get lunch. You will also be standing up and walking around a lot. If you get the chance, take a seat--your feet will thank you at the end on the event.
And no matter how well you place, have FUN!

Re: Drive team stress?
 

^ THIS!

Being a driver at competition is always stressful as you are always in demand, there is very little down time, and if there is....that usually means a broken robot which is only more stressful. Remember to take time to eat!

Other than that, try to focus on the task at hand! But have fun, driving is great way to meet people at competition.

Re: Drive team stress?
 

FIRST is seriously intense and some of the drive teams do crack under pressure (the worst I saw was a student coach drop a ton of f-bombs on his human player for not performing up to his expectations). Some kids eat it up like ice cream and some look like a deer in the headlights. Not really sure if tests and interviews can really judge if kids can face the increasing pressure of the moment as the event draws on.

Re: Drive team stress?
 

Drink plenty of water
Remember to eat/Keep your blood sugar up
Find a moment to get outside
Watch some other teams' matches
Joke with your teammates
Queue for matches during the first call, if possible, to avoid having to rush to the match
Let the pit crew handle their jobs

Re: Drive team stress?
 

On Friday night make a point of getting extra sleep.
I have seen so many students get excited and then have great fun with their team mates on Friday night .... staying up.... playing video games or watching tv .... This only makes the problem worse on Saturday.

Get the rest you will need for the next day. You WILL be performing well.
You WILL be picked for Elimination rounds...so prepare your body....

You certainly should have fun but recognize that the stress takes a lot out of you even if you don't really notice it.

Have fun!! Be happy!! Play Robots!!

Re: Drive team stress?
 

I remember my first time driving the robot. It was at the 2009 WRRF CalGames off season event, and I was a rookie. The only reason I was driver was because the drivers were seniors and they had some standardized testing to do, and I was the next best choice. Being a driver can be extremely nerve wracking, because your team is relying on your skill. I constantly felt the butterflies in my tummy during eliminations, and it wasn't even a full event!
I did my best to get past the stress by remembering that I've practiced for this, and I filtered out everything else and focused on my objectives. I let the coach do their job, and I communicated with my co-driver. We finished as finalists that day, and that was my first ever live match competition, and the experience of driving was very rewarding.

I was on the drive team every year since up to 2013, and the butterflies went away after my second competition. I think you have to find a way to manage stress on the field. One way to help you reduce your stress is understanding that all the pressure isn't just on you. It's also on everyone else on the entire team , from the human player, to coach, to the designers, builders, and programmers. All their work culminates towards making the robot, and their combined skills are necessary for the robot to even work. I think when you meditate on the fact that driving is an important job, but isn't the only reason why you would win or lose a match, the stress can lessen because the pressure to perform is not just on you, but on the entire team. That's how I look at it.

But the hands down best way to reduce your stress is to increase your driver confidence, and that comes from the experience of practicing and competing.

The first matches ever can be terrifying, but once you've got 10 or 20 matches under your belt, you just can't wait for the next match to start!

Re: Drive team stress?
 

During lunch, go play games with your team mates. That will alleviate the stress. For me, I behave kinda weird, and when I become a bit hungry, I become hyper. If i eat too much, I become hyper. So, make sure you find your range and eat accordingly!

bring a good laptop and play some games during down time. I also find it very stress-removing to go and wander different pits and talk to the new friends I make

Re: Drive team stress?
 

I am the driver for 2175. Last year, we had some pretty high stakes matches. In our 2nd regional - Minnesota North Star Regional - we had a cRIO die randomly (nobody could figure out why...) and one of Pit Crew guys and I had to replace it in the dark in less than 6 minutes. That was pretty stressful. Then we entered the Finals matches and those were pretty nerve racking. The way I dealed with it was I just kept drinking water, and staying calm. I watched other matches, talked with mentors on the sidelines, and overall just having a good time and enjoying the experience. When the time came to drive, I zoned in and just ignored everyone but my Coach and Assistant Driver. I then focused only on my robot and its surroundings I essentially became the robot and didn't pay attention to anything else until the match is over. During that time I am the most relaxed and I don't think about anything but driving. During our time in the Galileo Finals, it was much different. I did the same process as before (hydrating, enjoying the matches, etc.) but this time there was the added pressure of maybe getting to Einstein. I know the way our Human Player delt with the stress was he started doing push-ups before each mach. It was actually pretty entertaining and helped me relax before each mach because it took my mind off the match. When match time came, I just zoned in on the robot and completed the match.

Some advice:
Keep hydrated, keep your energy up (be it with food or just excitement), never loose hope in a match (never give up), only listen to your Coach/Assistant Operator - don't worry about the fans or MC, enjoy the atmosphere - who knows if you will get to elims again, and above all have fun.

Re: Drive team stress?
 

When I get stressed or nervous driving in a match I find it best to get excited. Jump around and exert positive energy. Its best to use the adrenaline released by the stress. So get excited! It also helps the other drivers around you if they see you're excited. They will feel more confident and perform their best. And so will you. Good luck this season

Re: Drive team stress?
 

Said no 2056 driver ever.

/s

Re: Drive team stress?
 

I've been the driver for 3 years with the possibility of this year as well. I'm going to keep it short and simple.

You will get mad, and that's okay, that just means that you have a lot invested.

Keep calm and carry on. Yes, it is stressful and it's hard to forget why you lost a match, or think what you could've done. Don't worry about it. I have learned (the hard way) that you will do better if you keep a cool head.

Things to remember: You represent your team, and no matter what, keep your head up and carry on, Be respectful when you win, and drive it like you stole it.

Re: Drive team stress?
 

All this, and: get about a foot of surgical tubing and keep it in your pocket. When you're feeling stressed or tense, stretch it. I still have the piece that got me through drive coaching 2815's Cinderella run at Peachtree 2011.

Re: Drive team stress?
 

Just focus. I for one keep a small piece of a lucky robot in my pocket (for me its a bearing from the 2013 robot). Doesn't hurt to be a bit superstitious. In addition to this, I also keep a tin of Altoids in my back pocket, it calms the nerves on both psychological and physical levels. Finally, don't be afraid to ask for some help. I know my first year as driver, I didn't hydrate or eat anything, and by 2pm I was about to pass out.

Hope this helps, and good luck.
-Lydia

Re: Drive team stress?
 

I relieve stress by winning. Just kidding, but I like to win.

But on a more serious note...
Be rested and ready. Before a match I like to take a little time to "get in the zone" and focus. Also, it helps to have a plan for what you are going to do. If you are the driver, have your coach try and tell you what to do before teleop starts. And if you're the coach, tell the driver what to do so he/she clearly knows what to do (right at the end of auto is good). Preparation is a huge stress reliever.

Re: Drive team stress?
 

I've been Team 341's driver for about 1.5 years now, and although that may not be a lot of time, there is an immense amount of things I've learned about managing stress. Like lots of people mentioned already, you are here to have fun. Although you and many of your team mates are so invested in this robot, if you aren't having fun is it really worth it? Another thing is that your job is to drive, and just drive. If the robot breaks, you should be comfortable knowing that you have your entire pit crew behind you that will fix the robot in time for the next match. Something that my drive coach always tells me is to leave the pit and eat, relax, go potty etc. As silly as it may seem, just occupying yourself with non-robot related things will help you clear your mind and get you in the position to do your job to the best of your ability.

This is so true. Just put your heart into driving and you won't be that stress out. My drive coach always tells me as well as my old team mates that you should drive the robot like I stole it, don't care about what happens to it because you should have trust in your robot and your team. :)

Re: Drive team stress?
 

I was thrown into driving last year with no practice time with the robot at all! When it comes down to it, try not to stress! I know this may seem impossible, but embrace the stress instead! Use it to get pumped about the match and simply try your best, i know this can be hard with a drive team couch yelling behind you, but it works out in the end!

Best of luck!

Re: Drive team stress?
 

This will sound weird, but bear with me.

When I was on the drive team, I found that both my driver and myself performed best when we were loose. To get loose before a match if we felt the stress coming on, we would grab each others' arms, wiggle them back and forth, and repeatedly say "loosey goosey, loosey goosey." Start with your arms and really get your whole body into it, until you're both sitting there wobbling like idiots. It was amazing how much better our driving got once we started staying loose. Now it's somewhat of a tradition on my old team for the drivers to get "loosey goosey" before matches.

You will look ridiculous in front of everyone. You will feel stupid. However, you will not care because now you are loose and in a better mood, capable of focusing on the task at hand.

Re: Drive team stress?
 

I was the driver last year, and our first match ended, well, not as expected. If I remember correctly, after the fall, my drive coach took the other driver and me aside and told us almost the exact same thing. That changed my attitude for the rest of the year.

It's already been said in this thread multiple times, but just have fun. After all, it is just a game.

Re: Drive team stress?
 

Play "Catch don't catch!"
Simple game that reflects this years rules it is like playing catch but you say either catch or don't catch.
Since you aren't supposed to ever possess the opposing teams ball we just throw the ball at each other and say catch or don't catch to simulate weather an allied ball is coming or an opponents ball is coming.
Being honest it does one important thing and shows me which team members hold grudges, if I notice one person saying "don't catch" a lot and putting a ton of force into the throw towards another person this could be a sign of hostility.

Hope this helps

Cheers!

Re: Drive team stress?
 

I drove for 3 years on my team and I just had fun with it. Win or lose it was fun. No stress at all

Re: Drive team stress?
 

SLEEP, SLEEP, SLEEP, and a little bit more, SLEEP.

Remember to eat and stay away from the caffeine.

Re: Drive team stress?
 

Last year, I drove our robot and I found that the absolute best way to cope with the stress is to just take a breather and leave the pit for about five minutes... I always found a quiet place to relax and clear my head like many others have suggested. It's foolproof!

And also listening to your music to get you in "the zone" may help to get your mind off of other things... For me it's Rush, Rush, and more Rush....

Re: Drive team stress?
 

I find humor helps our alot in the driver station, if you are laughing or smiling in the driver station you dont feel as stressed. I see most people say drink lots of water and stay away from caffeine/sugar but i usually chew gum or eat wintergreen lifesavers (gives me something else to focus on) all day at competition. I am usually also loaded on caffeine all day. This year i am on drive team but, not in a drive role, the drive coach and i give driver info on what to do and communicate with the other teams along with how much time is left and such which also keeps the driver from having to think to much. I also know the wintergreen mints work well for other people on our driver team (fox46). good planning before matches also keeps stress down by everyone know what is supposed to happen rather than the match being a confused mess.

Re: Drive team stress?
 

You can be in a semi final round with the odds stacked against you with one loss and a sudden death round while having to pee really bad and "rkbot" looks at you and offers you a mint.... makes everything better!

THESE:

Re: Drive team stress?
 

Being a 1st year drive team member last year was really stressful especially since the drive team was doubling as the whole pit crew, but what I really think helps is when you have bonded with your fellow drive team members so that even after a bad match you can talk with each other about it and learn from any mistakes made. Its important not to keep the stress from it all bottled up. Being good friends with our driver and human
player made us work better as a team and recover from any problems more easily

Re: Drive team stress?
 

What everyone has been saying so far is pretty much all true. A few things i found that worked for me:
1. I kept something in my pocket to fiddle with. Whether it be beads, my leatherman, a nut, or whatever, i helped me calm my nerves because i could take it out and play with it which distracted me.

2. Don't watch the matches of teams you are worried about. This is especially true in elims where having a clear head is extremely important. I learned that if i watched matches of teams with better robots, or of people we were about to play against, i would psyche myself out and it would throw me off my game.

3. Water = winner. Whether or not you want to believe it, doing even the most trivial tasks such as drinking will distract you and you will feel better.

4. Take a walk outside! I know this sounds extreme because most of us are afraid of the sun, but fresh air will help you think better and more clearly. I remember distinctly last year at MAR championship we lost either 3 or 4 matches in a row where we scored just about as many points as we could have, including a match where we scored 105 points by ourself and still lost. I was really upset and stressed because i thought everyone would be angry at us for losing but then i went for a walk outside and calmed down. We played well the next match and won and everything got better.

Point being if you ever feel too stressed out, kick back for a bit, go outside, take a deep breathe, and just chill. Good luck! :D

Re: Drive team stress?
 

TL;DR: My only advice to you, is not to sleep in during qualifications!

In 2002, at National Championship, our Student driver was still asleep in his room, and our mentors went crazy, trying to find him, and wake him. It was interesting to say that I think that mentor is bald now from him stressing to find our driver. lol

Don't stress, you got the part, and just do your part as best as you can. :-)

Re: Drive team stress?
 

I am human player on my team and in many practices, I worked on avoiding G40s. In semifinals at Alamo, it was called on me for the first time. It really started getting to me, and I put pressure on myself. We still won the match, but I felt bad about getting a penalty that has been deciding many matches.

Right after the match, the other students on our drive team told me not to let it get to me since it was the first and only one. Even 118s human player came over and told me that I was good and that I shouldn't fret.

It is good to have people backing you up.
But always try to take things that happen as a learning experience and if necessary, go somewhere where you can just sit down, drink some water, and take a few deep breaths

Re: Drive team stress?
 

I like Rush and all, but your profile pic would lead me to believe you're more of a Pink Floyd fan...

Re: Drive team stress?
 

Celebrate your wins and don't dwell on the losses. Things will likely go wrong at some point, but keep level headed and stay hydrated.

Spend time preparing for matches by watching and strategizing. Make sure that game plans are worked out ahead of the match, and get to queue early enough to prepare with the alliance.

If you feel yourself losing grip off the field, take a quick break if you can. Avoid panicking at any costs. You're in trouble the moment you lose the ability to think on your feet.

During the match, things will go wrong eventually. The strategy might fall apart, or your shooter or even drivetrain might fail catastrophically (been there, done that...), but you need to focus, and do the most you can to help the alliance. Be ready to roll with mid match strategy changes if something simply doesn't work.

Overall, enjoy the experience! If things aren't going well, step back and get some perspective. I love every part of being the driver for my team. I turn the stress into positive energy and am always focusing on the next match that we play.

Re: Drive team stress?
 

Remember Terriermon

Re: Drive team stress?
 

Become besties with your second driver. Develop a language so you can talk to each other. Yell at each other when you're upset and lean on each other when you need it. Let your coach in on some of the dialect so he/she gets the inside jokes and isn't concerned with your overtly inappropriate analogies. It's not like anyone is recording audio behind the glass. Don't think about "failures" of any magnitude because plenty of other people will do that for you. Most of all celebrate, thrive and become immediately motivated in the moment by the successes - even the tiny push to get a first assist. To me, that is what is meant by 'leave it on the field'.

Funny how it also works with co-workers.

(second Bob's note about sleep)