[PayneTrain]

422 has been, to my knowledge, a team that has operated with a student coach since its inception up until this year. This was the first year where a perfect storm of sorts occured and the students asked me to coach. Students on 422 are very astute individuals who are very well suited to gaining an edge on the strategy and scouting of the games, but given student makeup of the team (all seniors and most juniors have well defined roles they enjoy on or off the drive team), the inability to identify a student we could plug into the role and have it work as well as an adult, and the game this year looking like it would be hell on a drive coach, I stepped in.

I was a drive coach in parts of 2010 and all of 2012, where we took objectively terrible robots to finalist appearances, and came back as adult this year to take an objectively mediocre robot to a top 25 finish on the division. Whether or not 422 moves back to a student, picks another adult, or keeps me is something to be done in our end-of-season review. I did enjoy my time as a drive coach every time I have done it, but this year especially has taken a toll on me. I do know I would definitely relinquish the role at the request of the drive team or if myself or others find a student who could bring a better perspective to the game than me.