Quote:
Originally Posted by smurfgirl
I helped build the 2006 robot, and later that season, the team was ranked last throughout most of the New England Regional. ... Later that day, our team was selected to join an alliance with two very experienced and accomplished teams. They passed on a lot of knowledge that not only explained how their teams were so successful, but also directly contributed to our team's success in subsequent years.
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Ellen hit it right on the head - this is an extremely common story from 1124 folklore, even 6 years later. To this day, we can look back at this robot (yes, it's still intact/functional) and refresh ourselves on some of the lessons learned that year - most of which came from the veteran teams we competed with. And those lessons are still being passed around. I'm sure the lessons from veteran teams directly affected 1124's ability to be successful on a large stage in the years after that. And if I know one thing about the UberBots of yesteryear, I'm positive that they worked to continue the cycle and spread the knowledge they gained so other people could be inspired, just like they were a few years before.
It's always easy to write off other teams' successes as being all due to their mentors, sponsors, huge budgets, or what have you. But that would be wrong. Seeing powerhouse teams should inspire you to stretch the bounds of what you can do and make the best with what you have. You should know that, with lots of hard work and dedication, you can be just like them.
To draw from my team's history, I know how hard 1124 worked a few years back. I see it every day in our workshop, be it from old robots sitting around, or from little bits of prototyped metal in a scrap pile somewhere. I know how much they wanted to be at the top, and I know how much the teams already there helped pull them up. Sure, we got our share of haterade thrown at us, but I like to think that all that hard work put in paid off somewhere - in helping another team get a taste of the same inspiration. As a student leader of the next generation of the UberBots, I look up to many of the powerhouse teams, and I see what a great example they set for everyone else, and try to emulate it. I'm inspired.
...that probably came out kind of long and rambly, but my point is: don't hate on the powerhouse teams. They've work really hard, inspired tons of people, and embody what FIRST is all about.