FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

So now that the Championships are over (and I actually had to go to school today), I've found myself depressed that the past four months of our lives has gone by so quickly! Last year, I made a USB OTG cable by myself just to make something again, but I don't know what to do this year! It seems a little too small of an idea!
What do you guys do when FIRST Withdrawal sets in?

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

Get ready for off-season events! We're less then 20 days away from the first of 5 off-season events New England will see over the course of May and June.

Otherwise, I try to actually take a little time off from FIRST, even when the withdrawals set in. It's an addiction, but it's important to take care of yourself, see the family, do some other things etc.

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

Off season plans:

- Mentor Training for our incoming freshman on 125
- Student Training for incoming students
- A handful of visuals to help teams
- Drivetrain prototype(s)
- Some off seasons
- Finish my quadcopter
- Get more than 3 hours of sleep
- Tune my 3d Printer
- Experiment with 3d printed timing belts

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

just make this

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

Well of course!

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

It might be even worse for me; I'm on the strategy team. I have literally nothing to do and it's making me sad. I've already basically memorized the top 500 OPRs and CCWMs (Max, Average, and Last), and I'm now scrambling to come up with another statistic I could create to give myself anything to do.

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

Oh man, that one hit me hard. I'm excited because robots, but worried because I'm volunteering at two of those five and I don't even live in New England anymore...

But I'll make it happen and it'll be so worth it.

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

I wonder how many of those 125 will decide to show up to... Because we need MORE matches on our machine right?

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

What are some of the off-season events in New England? I know W.P.I Battle cry is one. Any teams in the New England area looking for something to do can check out the Day of robots that team #4909 is hosting at Billerica Memorial High School on May 31st.

Day of robots thread: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/sh...hreadid=129141

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

Well, all but 3 of our current members are graduating, so we've been recruiting since our regional. Other than that:

1. Teach the newbies programming
2. Teach the newbies about the eletrical systems
3. Find a veteran member to teach the newbies shop safety
4. Build a test machine
5. Fundraise
6. Practice CAD
7. Practice programming
8. Build my 3D Printer
9. Start applying for colleges
10. Et Cetera...

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

May 17 - CT State Championships - Killingworth, CT (Open to CT Teams Only)
May 24-25 - Battle Cry @ WPI - Worcester, MA
May 31 - Mayhem in Merrimack - Merrimack, NH
June 14 - Where's Wolcott - Wolcott, CT
June 28 - Beantown Blitz - Boston, MA

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

My Off Season doesn't begin til November.

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

My team has summer and fall projects built up, including:

-Summer CAD sessions for swerve and WC drivetrains
-Lego camps for youngsters
-Custom 3-CIM shifting gearboxes
-Pre-season freshmen CAD classes
-Build a demo bot with summer CAD drive trains to shoot Rebound Rumble basketballs

Personal projects:
-CNC certification
-Design and build a custom 3D printer

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

I won't miss the robots but I will totally miss my graduating seniors.

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

I've promised myself I won't mentor for at least two years, so the withdrawal is real. :(

I'll be taking a physics class in the summer (only now do I realize how nerdy that sounds), and I plan on volunteering at FIRST events throughout the school year. My spring break is during week 6, so mom and I plan on traveling to volunteer at an FRC event then, considering there typically aren't MN regionals during week 6.

What I really need to stop doing is pressing the refresh button on the Spyder app. I've worked in scouting my three years on the team, and it'll be strange not geeking out over ridiculous CCWMs with my mom on a weekly basis.

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

Ironic spotlight at the top of my page:

"FIRST is a big family and we‘ll get through this together. - Gary Dillard "

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

It is particularly hard for me because I devote so much of my time to robotics. It has become my favorite thing to do because there is so much opportunity and fun that comes with it.

You work so hard for 6 weeks and with it comes so much reward. Going to worlds was probably one of the best experiences of my life. I can't help but think about all of the great experiences I've had over the last few months. It is a hard pill to swallow.

But, at Fusion 364, we are going to:

- Try to become a beta test team
- Teach incoming freshmen and other members electrical, mechanical, and programming
- Find new sponsors and fund raise, we are quite low on funds
- Give back to the community and spread the mission of FIRST
- Prototype new systems for years to come (Swerve is pretty awesome)
- Attend at least one off season event (Red stick rumble!)

I can't wait to get started again. FIRST truly is a great program.

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

THIS

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

And don't forget River Rage(Manchester NH) and Mainely Spirit(Oakland ME) in the Fall! We love offseasons in New England.

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

Well, I'll be distracted until AP exams are over, then it's MSHSL, then it's graduation, then it's grad parties, then there's IRI, then there's the State Fair...

In all seriousness, I'm putting together a CAD tutorial book for Creo. More than enough tech stuff for me. After that, might expand it in a variety of ways, but I'll finish up the basics first (okay, I probably shouldn't have mentioned this because now it will be impossible to finish).

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

As a graduating senior I have a few plans:

Volunteer at Battlecry WPI
Train new kids on CAD since the current CAD students are graduating
See the new Captain America movie a few more times
Watch playoff hockey with my friends
Get ready for college (Go Fighting Irish!)
Expand outreach and fundraising for our team
Find a spring offseason that isn't too close or booked up
Go outside and replace that monitor tan with a real one
See my friends and family
Pass my AP exams (and IB Math HL as it turns out)
And, a personal goal that not everyone needs to or want to try, run a few miles a few days a week, to burn off all the Doritos and Mountain Dew.

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

This. This is the first year 422 has any semblance of transitional programming but this year we are losing:

1) Our first Dean's List Finalist
2) Our head programmer for the last two years
3) The core Chairman's team that won our first ever RCA, including 2 presenters
4) Many more hands on and behind the machine

I've really given them hell to make sure they realize their potential of coming together to work hard as a team, and they are probably the smartest, most humble, and tireless individuals I have ever been able to work with as both a student and mentor. I watched them all grow from being little oddballs looking for a place to call home into great leaders who will no doubt do greater things than I ever will. Every hour going through the local Kroger's stock of chips and guacamole to get the Chairman's presentation right, the nights I spent awake worried that I bombed the Dean's List essay and ruined his chances, and the constant negotiating with a very intelligent programmer beaten down by a mechanical program with room to imporve are the things that I will miss as I recover a fraction of my old sleeping schedule.

I won't ever really run into withdrawl with FIRST until it probably kills me, but I'll miss every member on every class that graduates.

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

One section of the off-season at a time :p

Also Bash at the Beach (Old Lyme, CT) is the 3rd fall New England Event. This is why I love our region, we have so many great off-season events!

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

MAR has as many off seasons as we do official events (7 of each).

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

As a senior who broke out in tears after losing a third quarterfinal match as what I thought would be the last match that our senior drive team would ever play. The withdrawal is very real. After doing so much in four years with these people on my team that have become my best friends, it is VERY difficult to let it all go. I'm just glad that we got into Championships and share a few more memories together.

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

I'm glad to have some free time to get caught up on Nixie watch orders, and to work on my latest project - the Etch-a-Sketch wristwatch! The case is printing right now on the 3D printer in my bedroom.

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

I told myself the same thing.. It took one semester in my sophomore year to go from "absolutely not" to "just a little bit" to jumping in with both feet.

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

Off season? Huh? On 4967 we decided that the post-season was the FIRST Finale and the off-season was the eight hours home from St. Louis and now we are in the pre-season.

However, I'm taking this week to finish up my Eagle Scout. I've spent far too much time not doing that. After that? I start work on June 2. But I get out at 4:00, time enough to continue on as a mentor I think, though I do not know yet in what capacity or how much.

Re: FIRST Withdrawal Sets In
 

Well, beyond the obvious team activities(new programming languages, new drivetrains, sponsors, members, etc...) I try to go camping when possible, get 8 hours, and build random stuff in my garage. Also, ChiefDelphi.