Quote:
Originally Posted by Kims Robot
...Freshmen/Rookies may have "no fear"...cannot have the same type of fear or understanding of the pressure...
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I tend to argue against this being a good thing. (Also, I'm having trouble juxtaposing the assertion with the latter story)
One major thing we've learned to look for in drivers (regardless of age) is how well they're known to handle
and respect pressure. It's true, it makes or breaks drive teams. But I'd argue that the absence of fear, particularly when born of naivety, is anything but courage--courage is forged in the fires of fear. All the best drivers we've ever had were varsity athletes, and all the runners up had similar qualities and resumes (lifeguards, EMTs, Eagle Scouts, military cadets). The trend started well before we realized it should be a selection issue of its own. Sure, you might not ever be able to replicate being on an official event's field*, but in many ways I've found that pressure is pressure, and grace under it is just that. So I'd advise finding people that know or are primed to learn how to handle it, rather than those that don't yet know how to be afraid. The latter's reactions are much less predictable than the former.
That said, this doesn't inherently rule out rookies! Drivers from OCCRA/etc (is it 33 that's well known for this?), cadets, athletes, even musical soloists, etc can be awesome choices.
*For what it's worth, I've been in the box for 7 years with essentially every driver our team's ever had, and almost every one of us thrives most at the "a field is a field" level. There needn't be any substantive difference between playing at Horsham, Einstein, or Monty Madness, if you can confine yourself to the pressure of the game and play the field you're dealt. This, again, is a technique I see in a lot of varsity athletes and other performers.