Quote:
Originally Posted by MysterE
#1 - Screaming at the pedestal does not make it light up.
#2 - Screaming at the referee closest to your side of the field does not make the pedestal light up.
#3 - Screaming at the ball handlers on your side of the field does not make the pedestal light up.
#4 - Screaming at the human player from the other team on your alliance does not make the pedestal light up.
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Wonderfully put Daniel...here is my response.
#1 - True, but its pretty funny if you think about it.
#2 - Mostly True? I would say the majority, but not all of the time, if your pedestal isn't lighting up right away, your refs are probably either aware, working on it, or some silly-head left an extra ball on the field and it wasn't lighting up for a reason. There were many factors at play.
#3 - Definitely true, and they don't deserve to be yelled at....period.
#4 - True again...though maybe it'll help pass the word that everyone already knows?
Listen guys, its pretty simple...there are about 20 people watching the game at one time per match...seven of them are referees. Its not hard to figure out when the pedestal is or isn't lighting up, because the human players are so darned quick to get out there and reload the robot. I can't tell you the number of times I heard a fellow volunteer yell out "PEDESTAL" before a peep even came out of a drive crew. There are tons of factors as to why a pedestal wouldn't light up, and none of them really warrant yelling at anything but the pedestal itself. The dead ball thing you may have a point with (at first), but by the end, the refs had that down too.
As for the coaches yelling thing...things get loud behind the glass, yes. Every time I have coached, I have warned my drive crew that I do get louder and repeat things, but thats where it ends. What Daniel is talking about is way more malicious than that. I have seen coaches absolutely screaming their heads off at students of their own teams, other teams, volunteers, and FIRST staff. I have seen kids walk off the field crying or just wheeling that anger to other people. In my eyes, there is no place for it in this game. We all want to win...I get it, but this is not some professional football game...its a high school robotics competition, meant to inspire students, not make them cry. Get with the picture.
I'd rather have my students walk away with a joy of playing hard, having a fun time, and feeling inspired...even if some calls didn't go our way, than win a blue banner on Einstein. Of course, thats just me, and maybe thats why I've never coached on Einstein. Then again, I've seen a ton of amazing coaches who do it right on Einstein as well...