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Unread 20-08-2015, 17:09
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Nathan Streeter Nathan Streeter is offline
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FRC #1519 (Mechanical MAYHEM)
Team Role: Mentor
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Rookie Year: 2006
Location: Merrimack, NH
Posts: 676
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Re: Alliance Captain versus last pick in Alliance Selection

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jay O'Donnell View Post
In my experience there is nothing more inspiring for a group of students than winning a blue banner. Striving for excellence is a lot easier when you've had a taste of it. That being said, I wouldn't want to be the 24th pick and win if I had an awful robot and was told to sit in the corner, but if I was on a team and was picked 24th to play an important role, then I would embrace it. 1058s only regional win came when we were picked 23rd (last pick on 2 seed) but that win changed the culture of our team forever.

Just because you get picked last doesn't mean you can't be a good team.
Quote:
Originally Posted by piersklein View Post
This year my team was picked as a second pick both of our two district events. In the first one we were the last robot and picked up by the 1st seed and we won the event. Despite our 2014 season being successful, this one day of matches has been the most important one for me personally. Due entirely to team 1519's belief that we were worthwhile as partners, our scoring improved, our confidence improved, and I was able be mentored by a team that wins constantly. Soley for this reason, being picked last is completely worth it to me. Also due to this, our next event we improved greatly and in eliminations scored many of our alliance's points. However, we were knocked out in the quarterfinals due to a few mistakes.
It's cool to hear from two teams that 1519's picked late in the draft! I will say that both 1058 in 2010 and 4908 in 2015 played critical roles on our alliances... in both cases we felt like we were getting a total steal for that late in the draft at those events! I'm glad that the experiences were highlights/turning points for your teams!

1058 did anything but 'sit in the corner' at GSR in 2010... playing the all-important mid-field position moving balls from mid-field to the near zone fast enough to keep 1073 busy pushing them into goals. As I recall, 1058 was 'getting things working' throughout quals at GSR and didn't have much accuracy on the goal, but was very effective at possessing a ball and passing it on (which was all we needed!).

4908 may have physically 'sat in the corner' at UMD in 2015, but they added plenty of value, particularly for the 24th selection at a 27 team event!! They'd shown flashes in quals and had several key abilities... as long as they could get the first two totes out correctly, they were all set. I think you guys scored 2 4-stacks from the HP twice by the end of elims! Quite impressive for the 24th pick at their first event... particularly given that there were only 3 robots unpicked!

I can definitely relate to the group with positive experiences from the 'last pick' group... we were picked 23rd by 33 and 469 on Archimedes in 2013... we played a helpful role, but certainly weren't carrying our alliance. Regardless, that experience had an overwhelming impact on our team, providing us with our only CMP division win and Einstein appearance and showing us a lot about how teams compete at that level.

Conversely, we also learned a lot from flopping as the #8 captain at on Newton in 2006... selecting a successful alliance at CMP is anything but just picking your friends and implementing a similar strategy that won you a week 1 regional. Turns out both experiences can be great learning experiences... I'd say we definitely enjoyed and took more honor in the experience winning as the 'final' pick than flopping as the last captain though.
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"If you want to build a ship, don't drum up men to gather wood, divide the work, or give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights." - Muhammad Ali
"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication." - Leonardo da Vinci


Student: 2006-2010 (#1519)
Mentor: 2011-Present (#1519)



Last edited by Nathan Streeter : 20-08-2015 at 17:11.
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