Quote:
Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi
It gets a little worse in districts. Match turn around time is kind of nuts at some events.
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Nothing quite like the queuers telling you to put your cart right back in the queuing box you came from... three matches in a row.
Some of these fatigue tips apply to everyone - nutrition, hydration, breaks from monotony - but here's what I do, specifically with our drivers, to make sure they're not exhausted:
They (usually) don't have their hands in the robot between matches. Yes, if something truly critical happens they may lend an extra hand, but our 'pit crew' is a separate group of students from the drive team. I know I've posted about this before, but I can't find it at the moment. When the drive team comes back from a match, we issue a 'report' of sorts - here's what happened, here's what might have gotten bent - and the pit crew gets to work. That way, our drivers can take a seat (I highly recommend fold-up seating stored in your pit for the students and mentors stationed there), have some water, and relax.
We exchange who goes for pre-match alliance chats. Not only is bringing a whole horde of people to one pit a little crowded, but only taking one student per match allows the other two to take a break. The three students rotate through with me, speaking to our alliance partners - this lets each of them be involved in match strategy, but not be overwhelmed by being constantly on the move.
Everyone stays calm. I've noticed that many teams have this panicky atmosphere when things are going wrong - part of our team's culture is remembering to not freak out when things aren't going right. Are there rushed oh-god-we-need-to-be-on-field-now moments? Sure. I'd say 99% of the time, though, our pit is a calm and collected atmosphere - it definitely helps us think through a problem a little bit faster.
Get silly with it! This is supposed to be fun, after all. Our pit is never short on silly jokes, prank wars, and friendly jabs at each other. Not only does it help pass time, but it keeps everyone's attitude lighthearted - the day doesn't feel like a series of chores.
Hope that helps?