Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperNerd256
You obviously don't get it. There are no losers in FIRST! I say that anyone who builds a robot out of a kit of parts, in just 6 weeks, to solve a complicated task is definitely a winner!
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I don't exactly agree with this statement, but by this definition, there are still teams that loose. I know because I've been there.
Why do some teams loose to this degree? I have some pretty strong views on this issue
Internal Culture: Teams don't achieve because they don't demand it. They don't build the mentality that powerhouse teams have: that to get something, you have to work hard for it. Want to know the rules? You've got to study them. Want a flawless grabber? You've got to put in the hours to prototype it. Want a fantastic sponsor? Hunt them down. If a team doesn't teach these ideas to their students, they tend to get lazy.
I think that this one, more than anything else, is the root of the issue. Everything else just feeds into it.
Denial: I think this is the root cause of some of the "Student built vs. Mentor Built" flames. If a team creates a robot that is not as effective as one of the powerhouses, it is easy to marginalize the achievement of the powerhouse, by suggesting that they didn't follow the spirit of the program. It's hard to put in the hard work required to reach the level of the powerhouses. And a team that's cut corners through the build process is likely to cut corners here as well. If this happens, however, these teams begin to feel that they're the best thing in the world, and have no reason to improve.
Giving up: There's a view out there that powerhouses have everything come easily to them: that their sponsors walked up to them and handed out money, that their robots work on the first try, and that they win events without really trying. When these things don't happen to a team, they get distressed. If they have a hard time securing work space or funding, they panic, rather than work for it. And as far as robots go, many teams schedule their builds assuming everything will go perfectly, and when it doesn't, they fail.
And many other issues mentioned in this thread. But these ones are the biggest that I've seen firsthand.