As a driver for team 1325, it was almost surreal walking onto the field and accepting the alliance request from 2056 and 1114. Though we're really passionate, we haven't been very successful in the past. This year, we decided to put everything we had into it, which was made quite difficult by teachers' job action, our limited resources, and the fact that we have an extremely young team. Also, our first day of competition was pretty shaky,and we doubted making any alliances. However, like some of the other users have said previously, you can't whine about not winning a regional because of powerhouse teams. My opinion might seem biased since I was on their alliance, but I honestly believe that our team, as well as many others, look up to teams like 2056 and 1114, and try to emulate their actions.
Last year was my first year in FRC, and I spent a lot of time wondering how top-notch teams like theirs worked so well. After being on an alliance with them, and working with them, I've learned a lot. It's their attention to detail, their mentors, and their passionate students that really lift them up. They have their sponsors because of these qualities. They were calm, polite, and very professional, even though our robot and driving weren't as good as theirs. A lot of the improvement we experienced from last year to this year was because we looked at teams like 2056 and 1114 and tried to have similar qualities. We're not there yet, but they've certainly inspired us to try harder this season.
Something else I noticed during this regional was the increase in the quality of rookie teams. Especially noticeable was 4476, the WAFFLES. I had a hard time convincing people that they were a rookie team. Congrats to 781 for the RCA win! Something interesting during this regional was when 2013 (was it you guys with the 2-speeds? I think it was, correct me if I'm mistaken) tried to push us, and we had a 6-CIM drive train...it was cool to see what would happen. Have you ever tried headbutting anyone with those hats?
1241 is another team with a powerful bot, and they also had a pit to match. That pit setup was gorgeous, I'm jealous
Also, 1075 had these awesome sparkly bumpers....our pit was right beside theirs, and I never grew tired of staring at their bumpers.
Obligatory first post note: This is my first post, so sorry if formatting/etiquette is off.