I've been stewing on this for a long time (some would say a month!) but between finals and taking on additional team responsibilities in a mini-crisis I haven't been able to adequately put it all on paper so I know exactly why the split is so bizarre and why I don't think it's the right move. There are a lot of ingredients in the stew so I pick out one every now and then to think about.
Some have said that if you chase excellence, you catch greatness. On 422, the general direction the team has been steered into is to chase greatness and catch something we're proud of (seasons like this year are why we aren't ready to take that next step yet). What does this mean to us specifically? Qualifying for championships is something that we think we should do every year. Not making the big show makes for a disappointing season in our book. Our goal is to make it as deep into CMP eliminations as we can make it. If we can just get one round closer to Einstein, that's a success for us.
These are not the only goals for 422, but these goals act as a great cinderblock on the accelerator while we try to wheel this team into hopefully being one of the best teams in FIRST in the next century or so. Pushing for these goals makes students want to work more and learn more, which means they want to build the skills and knowledge base while experiencing the crucible of an FRC season and bringing to light intangibles of leadership qualities, networking, critical thinking, and maybe if we're lucky, some charisma
.
When you split the championship event, you could make an argument that you take have the edge off of these goals we set. We're not in it to win (check our record if you don't believe me) but the pursuit of winning is a very
inspiring tool for 422 and hundreds of other FRC teams. The pursuit of that kind of
recognition is valuable. Not only can we take accomplishments home to our friends and families, but they can be leveraged for future support and grow the program to
inspire more people. In short, the question everyone should ask themselves is "At what point would the successful inspiration opportunity of championships be eliminated by certain changes, both already in motion and proposed?"
FIRST has a mission, a vision, and a history. It has a founder and a legend. It has a board of directors, a staff, volunteers, and sponsors. It has students, parents, mentors, coaches, teachers, and alumni. It has a unique meaning to the millions of people that have ever been involved with it or
inspired by it, and we would all do well to
recognize this fact.