[MrMARVINMan]

Hi! I'm the freshman co-pilot from MARS 2614, which makes it sound like I don't have a lot of experience on the subject. But id like to offer some advice anyways, as I've seen multiple drive teams throughout my family's FRC career.

I think the biggest element of drive team chemistry is between the driver and the co-pilot (or operator for some teams) and not between those two and the back coach. On our team, the back coach is in charge of managing our alliance strategy and doesn't completely focus on our own robot. This is a relatively new trend on our team, and it has only been since last year when our co-pilot had virtually nothing to do and everything was driver controlled. This year, the co-pilot is in charge of managing the lift system but also telling the driver where to go or what to do.

The back coach - while important - is more necessary to relaying back to the co-pilot what other teams are doing and what to watch out for. In turn, the co pilot relays this to the driver. This may seem inefficient, but it works extremely well on our team.

Also, drive team chemistry can only be forged through common experience. Our team participated in two off-season events with our "beta" drive team. As our drive team was all seniors last year, we needed to train new drivers and we found this to be the best way to do it. The new drive team receives important experience in tense situations without the entire world on their heads. This creates a common experience for people that don't necessarily know each other. I for one, didn't know my driver at all last spring and now we are best friends!

Practice, practice, practice! This is another important factor in forging a successful drive team. The more practice they have, the more decisions they have to make, the better they are at making them. Our drive team practiced every week on Saturday, sunday, and Wednesday and we ended up as the finalists on Hopper division for the first time! (Just another great experience for us)

Finally, my suggestions for the best drivers have to be people with these qualities:

1. Calm and Collected (good under pressure) - while people may not show it, some people can lose focus under the weight of their teams success. A driver needs to be able to make the right call 95% of the time. Nobody is perfect, but it would help a lot to get close.

2. Nice and Not-easily Angered - I myself admit that I am quick to anger, and that is not a good quality. Drivers need to be able to handle a situation without yelling at whoever is next to them. That just causes unnecessary stress.

3. Polite but Firm - a team driver needs to be polite to other teams, but at the same time be willing to push them around. Imagine that your team needs two cans to score well, while another team needs two cans but is less consistent. The driver needs to be able to negotiate for those cans without seeming arrogant.

4. Know How To Make a Robot Work - this quality is my personal opinion and not necessarily the best for your team. I prefer to have members of the mechanical and CAD teams as members of the drive team. These people know the limits of the robot and will push it to the max without taking it too far.

That's my (hopefully) helpful suggestion for you. Hope you take some of these things into account the next time you are selecting a drive team.