[KrazyCarl92]

In my view, the role of the Drive Coach is to be a leader in pre-match strategy discussions and make sure the agreed upon alliance strategy is effectively communicated to the drivers before the match. During the match the Drive Coach is responsible for knowing what all 6 robots on the field are up to, being aware of the clock, being aware of the score, and making any strategic adjustments (or overhauls) mid-match and communicating them to their partners as needed based on the information available. The Drive Coach should not be giving step-by-step instructions for everything the drivers have to do (unless a peculiar strategy is called for that match). Our drivers should be smart enough to execute a predetermined match strategy on their own. The valuable information the Drive Coach can provide would be more like "the left side of the field is cluttered, so go around behind the pyramid this time instead" than "put the arm up and line up to the peg". Time spent telling the drivers to raise the arm when they do that multiple times every match could be better spent analyzing the field for things the drivers don't already know. The Drive Coach should also be driven to study their competitors to be best prepared for competition.

Team 20 has developed a sort of unique team structure over the past few years based on experience and continuous improvement. I will spare the details, but let's just say that part of our team history includes the bullying from adult Drive Coaches mentioned by Frank. In 2011 we made a conscious decision to go away from adult Drive Coaches in favor of students taking the position. From 2011 through 2013 we have developed a team structure with a Drive Mentor (adult) and a Drive Coach (student) and we are definitely converging on a structure we like.

I was fortunate enough to be offered the position of Drive Mentor this past season for Team 20. I have never coached a match, but I was a driver my senior year in 2011 so I know what it is like to be behind the glass. I was behind the glass with both a student and an adult Drive Coach during that season so I feel that I have a rare perspective as to why this type of structure is important to our team. My role as Drive Mentor is NOT to be on the field with the team. My role at competition is to help lead pre-match strategy discussion and make sure that our scouting and drive teams are communicating effectively. I also pull aside the Drive Team after EVERY match to debrief about what went well and what can be improved. This is extremely important because we need to be able to focus on what we can control as a Drive Team without the distractions from others. We also need to do it after EVERY match because if we only do it after matches when the drivers perform poorly or the Drive Coach makes a questionable decision, the effect is to make it seem like every time I want to talk it is a punishment. Really all I am trying to provide is encouragement and constructive criticism based on strategic analysis to improve our team's on field performance. Emotions and focus are important to that.

Outside of competition, the Drive Mentor's role is to facilitate drive practice (we have a practice bot and access to a full size practice facility), help select the drive team, work well with the team's Lead Mentor and support the drive team in anyway that will help improve on field performance.

To select our student Drive Coach we look for character, personality, and skill, in that order. We have a multiple short essay test we administer to understand who takes the role seriously and how they would deal with tough situations at competition. How do we formulate a match strategy? When do we abandon failed objectives? How do we react to being treated poorly at competition? Does the candidate appear to understand probability, variation, and marginal utility in the context of strategy?

Our student drive coaches have been nothing short of great each of the last 3 seasons and our on field performance reflects that (despite having poorly executed robot designs in 2011 and 2012). Sure mistakes are made, but rarely the same mistake more than once.

When we made the decision to switch from an adult Drive Coach to a student Drive Coach, many mentors on the team were apprehensive about students being bullied into submission in strategy discussions or on the field by other adult Drive Coaches. I have only seen this happen to us twice in three years. Each time, while I consider the alliance partner's conduct unacceptable, we realize that there are things we could have done differently to improve upon the situation looking back and use it as a learning experience. I will say that the strength of our scouting system, especially this past season, has gone a long way toward having our student Drive Coaches heard. How can you ignore a respectful high school senior calmly telling you how many points each team on the field averages and how they do it along with a corresponding strategy designed to maximize our probability of winning a match?

I am firmly in favor of FRC teams deciding for themselves on this topic. That is to say, however a team feels it can best achieve its goals and adhere to the mission of FIRST. I am only qualified to help make that decision for my team, not dictate how thousands of others run theirs. Based on our team history and philosophy, a student Drive Coach is the way to go for Team 20. I can see how an adult Drive Coach is the correct decision for others, especially since there are plenty of very inspirational figures in the robotics community who have worn the coach's pin.