Quote:
Originally posted by ram
1. The middle schools students that help our immature and don't focus well.
2. Other team would look down upon us, because of it.
3. They will eventually be high school students.
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1. That seems to be an extreem generalization. I'm sure that there are some that are doing work and trying to stay a productive part of the team.. Of course those arent always the ones that want to drive.
2. I highly doubt this. If the middle school kids are good enough to be productive on the team and know what there talking about on the robot then most teams probably won't even realize its a middle schooler driving. Just make sure the person driving knows every detail about the robot, regardless of middle or high school.
3. This one I tend to agree with. The high school students don't have alot of time (4 seasons isn't enough, many dont even get that).
Before worrying about grade level i'd worry about knowledge and abilities. The driver needs to be able to compensate on the fly for problems mechanically, electronically, and in the programming. If the robot starts veering to the left they need to be able to quickly determine if the chain is binding, if the joystick isn't callibrated, or if its something else thats about to destroy the drive system or burn out the motors, and what to do to correct it, etc. If you have multiple operators you could let one of the middle school students handle the secondary controlls (ie box grabber, stacker, etc), or just be the extra player so they can still be in the driver station (I know its not the same but its still much better than being in the stands).