[Jarren Harkema]

Observed week 1 and competed in week 2. There were a few noted differences.

Fewer auto balls were missed. At the Southfield district tournament. There were usually 2-3 balls on the field after auto. At the Gull Lake tournament, the numbers were drastically smaller. Teams figured out that it was worth more to start cycles right away.

A heavy and fast offense beats defense, every time. Not sure if it was a difference in the teams competing at Gull lake as opposed to Southfield but teams at gull lake had a lot harder time defending against fast moving, fast shooting bots. We played our matches as offensively as possible, only playing defense when our part of the assist was done. Even then, we were covering our own alliance rather than stopping the opposing aliance. This proved to be an effective strategy.

Tech fouls were few and far between. I don't think G40 was called once. Teams are a lot more cautious now.

Robots must be able to hold onto balls. If simply turning flings the ball off your robot, find a better way to hold it.