Quote:
Originally Posted by Alan Anderson
The goal should be to play better than the opposing alliance, not simply to defeat them.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mathking
Try to remember that winning is explicitly not the purpose of FRC competition.
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^^^^^^
This.
I once had the opportunity to visit with a ref at our competition. He shared with me something that I carry in my heart to this day. And yes I know some of you are going to say, 'Yeah right, whatever' but here is what he said and I believe as well..
"Yes, I want to beat you but only if your robot is competing at its very best. This isn't all about winning. This is about working together to help everyone compete at their very best."
Inspiration comes in many forms from within FIRST. Some teams find inspiration in winning and others simply in accomplishing the challenge of building a competitive robot each year. We fall into the later category. We are an 'average' team that tries to improve in some way each year. We find our inspiration in that fact and in what is possible. We compete against some of the best FRC has to offer in terms of talent and capabilities and I tell my team, 'If you cannot look at what they accomplished and appreciate it as a feat of engineering prowess you are not here for the right reasons.'
Yes, I get caught up in the competition. Yes, I enjoy a good match. Yes, I want to bring home a blue banner BUT it is not the end-all-be-all of my team and should not be what keeps us all coming back.
I personally feel our greatest accomplishments are what we (my team, FIRST, and everyone who competes in it) inspire my students to do. They are going on to bigger and better things in college and in life. They are better equipped to deal with disappointment, leadership, and teamwork. They are entering their careers earning double and triple what I earn as a 10-year high school teacher and even better than that, they are mentoring middle and high school engineering (mainly robotics
) teams in their towns.
That is my ultimate goal and reward for every hour I spend away from my family during build season. It is what keeps my engineering mentors coming back year after year and it is why I will continue in FIRST for the foreseeable future.
Please, stop beating this game to death. The game is what it is love it or hate it. Like some things in life it's time to accept it for what it is and make the very best that we can out of it.