[thefro526]

There is a certain amount of stress that is a constant when on a team's driveteam, or really, any crucial team role while at a competition. One of the best ways to lessen the burden of any of those roles is to eliminate any unnecessary stress that you can, and then focus on what you're there to do.

Here are a few tips based on what I've learned over the years, some of which may or may not apply to your situation:

- A robot can be fixed, but a match cannot be replayed. There is nothing worse than playing a match and losing because you limited yourself out of fear of damaging your robot. One good match like this can eat away at you for the rest of the competition.

- You will make the best decision that you can make with the information you're given, in the time allotted. Looking back on my own experience, when I was younger, I had a tendency to let my actions eat away at me, thinking about what I could have done differently, or better. Now I've come to realize that I made the best decision that I could, and that if that decision was the wrong one, it was because I needed more information, to think for an extra half a second, etc, etc. If you make a bad decision, learn from it, but don't beat yourself up.

- Trust those around you, even if you think they may not be as good as you. As a drive team member, you should actively avoid micromanaging every robot related task, unless you really need to. No reason to change the battery, fix something, etc, etc, if someone else can do the job. Sure, they may not do it as fast, but if it gets done right, and on time, who cares? Giving up some of those other jobs will add up over time, and you'll start to see that your stress is going down.

- Keep an open mind, take advice, criticism, whatever, and actually think about it. If you're actively open to people's advice (especially those on your team) it can help to improve your performance, while also lessening the odds of someone coming down on you hard after a bad match. If you make your entire team feel engaged in what goes on while you're on the field, they'll have a tendency to support, more often than blame. (If your team is that kind of team, again, these are general.)

- Don't be afraid to take a break, ask for support, vent, etc. I've seen a lot of people (myself included) take their job too seriously, and not just sit down and watch a match or something. When I was a driver (a long time ago) it took me the better part of forever to learn how to walk away for 5 minutes, look at the sky, think about nothing, and come back - but once I learned how to do that, my job became so much easier.

- Leave it all on the field. Go out to each of your matches as if it is the last one you'll ever play. Do not hold back, do not over think, do not hesitate, just drive. If you put everything into each of your performances, you may find that it eases the pressure that you'll place on yourself to perform. If you know that you gave your all, and you lost, then so be it - but if you held back, and lost, then you might beat yourself up over it.

- Go with the flow. Don't fight battles that aren't worth fighting - you'll have enough battles to fight on the field. If someone wants to start their robot 3" to the left of yours, and it doesn't hurt you in any way, but it's a deviation from the plan, just roll with it. I've seen way too many people get worked up over little things that don't actually matter.

Oh, and don't forget to have fun. Yes, being a driver is a serious job. Yes, you're responsible for your teams fate as far as winning and losing is concerned. Does that mean you can't have fun? No. Be goofy, laugh, smile, make friends, do weird stuff, hug your robot, dance when you're announced for a match, whatever. The more fun you have, the less stressed you'll be - I promise.