[Coach Norm]

Originally Posted by Wayne TenBrink

A lot of the teams looking for somebody to play defense also expect some offense, too. Our second round pick list consists of teams that can score in autonomous (#1) and can hang for 10 (#). After that, we try scout for "field presence". Field presence is a subjective quality that is difficult to assign a number to (and even harder to get consistent data on from student scouts). On each team's match scouting sheet, we have a "general notes" section where the scouts check off applicable items from a list of "strengths" (fast chassis, always on task, good driver, etc.) and "weaknesses" (penalty magnet, slow, no obvious game plan, etc. During pit scouting, we ask teams how they feel about playing defense, note their drive train & quality of construction, etc. In summary, we don't specifically scout for defense. We look for teams that will be an asset on offense, but have what it takes to step into a defensive role. If any of the robots on the alliance have a partial breakdown during a match and can't score, then they go on defense and the "defense" bot goes on offense.

Well said Wayne. Kudos to you and your team.