971's scouting on Newton!
 

We took particular note of 971's scouting in Newton this year. Sitting with 1114's scouts during the draft we were impressed with the alliance they assembled (stealing our picks!) and knew they would be particularly dangerous. A mentor from Skunkworks said that the alliance had gotten 1983's top choices in each category. 971 proved the worth of its choices by reaching the finals from the #6 spot.

After we allied with 971 at Sacramento, we adopted several key elements of 971's scouting and draft method, and these were key to our success at Newton and Einstein. 971's system is the best student-led that I've encountered so far. Congrats to your success!

Re: 971's scouting on Newton!
 

What exactly did they do that was so great to make a good picklist? Was it certain software or good judgement by scouts?

Re: 971's scouting on Newton!
 

I have had the pleasure of working with the 971 scouting team a couple of times, and their methods for everything are very thorough from prescouting to their final match. Their scouts are also really nice and fun people.

Good job to 971!

Re: 971's scouting on Newton!
 

They have a rigorous system of collecting and analyzing data, a great system of organizing it for draft selection (a method we adopted after Sacramento), and what seemed to be a large number of students who were in their brain trust.

Re: 971's scouting on Newton!
 

Thanks for all the compliments. We work very hard on our scouting and strategy, this year more than ever. One part of our approach that I found especially valuable, to which Richard alluded to, was that there was an amazing trust coming from all members of the strategy team, both student and mentor, so we could make effective and informed decisions. No matter who was involved, individuals weren't afraid to assert their opinions based on what data and anecdotal evidence had been collected. The scouting system that we had in place at Championship was the result of a lot of effort from our own team members and detailed learning from other teams such as (but not limited to) 1678 and 254, with whom we have had the pleasure of competing with and against multiple times over the years.

Team 971 had a great time at Championship, and we were honored to be able to play with our amazing alliance partners 341, Miss Daisy, 1983, Skunkworks Robotics, and 3147, Mustang HorsePower, in eliminations. You guys were fantastic and we had a lot of fun on the ride to Newton Finals.