[peirvine]

I am the driver for 2175. Last year, we had some pretty high stakes matches. In our 2nd regional - Minnesota North Star Regional - we had a cRIO die randomly (nobody could figure out why...) and one of Pit Crew guys and I had to replace it in the dark in less than 6 minutes. That was pretty stressful. Then we entered the Finals matches and those were pretty nerve racking. The way I dealed with it was I just kept drinking water, and staying calm. I watched other matches, talked with mentors on the sidelines, and overall just having a good time and enjoying the experience. When the time came to drive, I zoned in and just ignored everyone but my Coach and Assistant Driver. I then focused only on my robot and its surroundings I essentially became the robot and didn't pay attention to anything else until the match is over. During that time I am the most relaxed and I don't think about anything but driving. During our time in the Galileo Finals, it was much different. I did the same process as before (hydrating, enjoying the matches, etc.) but this time there was the added pressure of maybe getting to Einstein. I know the way our Human Player delt with the stress was he started doing push-ups before each mach. It was actually pretty entertaining and helped me relax before each mach because it took my mind off the match. When match time came, I just zoned in on the robot and completed the match.

Some advice:
Keep hydrated, keep your energy up (be it with food or just excitement), never loose hope in a match (never give up), only listen to your Coach/Assistant Operator - don't worry about the fans or MC, enjoy the atmosphere - who knows if you will get to elims again, and above all have fun.