[ttldomination]

- Standardize your parts, drivetrains, materials, tools, pneumatics, everything. The FRC season is already a pain when it comes to manipulation systems, DT specs, packaging, etc. so, why make the game harder than you have to?

- Experiment in the off-season. I see too many teams that want to 'try item X' in the FRC season. Now, if it's for a manipulation system, that's understandable, but trying something fancy during the FRC season is unnecessary.

- Set realistic expectations of the game. That is to say that when it comes to guessing how well your opponents will run, always aim high. Overestimating your opponents is always better than underestimating them.

- Talk outside the team (aka network). Often times, a group of people can get a scary case of group-think, where the group tends to follow the ideas of one person or tends to stick to one idea. Talking to a 3rd party (parnets, other mentors, etc.) will give you new perspective and help you to break out of that group think.

- Learn from the past (games and teams). Look into similar games, look into why teams made the decisions that they did. The past is a window into the future.

- Sunny G.