[Al Skierkiewicz]

As Katie has pointed out, a backup drive team is essential. Over the years, we have had our drive team compromised by mono, bad grades, and a caffeine overdose (Mountain Dew and coffee). We select drivers through a series of test drives on an obstacle course using a previous year's robot. The test drive is open to all who want to try out. Some of our best drive teams have come from students who were encouraged to step up but never saw themselves as drivers. It is essential to get started early in the season on this part. By the time your team has a driving base even if it is prototype, the drive teams should be getting practice driving. Once you have a drive team practicing, they also have to be in on strategy discussions and hopefully should be part of the robot build. A good driver can maneuver the robot, a great driver can tell you what's wrong when something breaks on the field or the robot is not driving as it should. In those cases, a great driver may be able to figure out what to do with a broken robot instead of simply giving up. We have had drivers complete a successful match even when one side of the robot drive goes completely dead.

Practice, practice, practice!