Thread: Opinion Poll: Proliferation of Prefbricated Parts
View Single Post
  #1   Spotlight this post!  
Unread 06-02-2016, 10:34
gblake's Avatar
gblake gblake is offline
6th Gear Developer; Mentor
AKA: Blake Ross
no team (6th Gear)
Team Role: Mentor
  
Join Date: May 2006
Rookie Year: 2006
Location: Virginia
Posts: 1,939
gblake has a reputation beyond reputegblake has a reputation beyond reputegblake has a reputation beyond reputegblake has a reputation beyond reputegblake has a reputation beyond reputegblake has a reputation beyond reputegblake has a reputation beyond reputegblake has a reputation beyond reputegblake has a reputation beyond reputegblake has a reputation beyond reputegblake has a reputation beyond repute
Re: Opinion Poll: Proliferation of Prefbricated Parts
Quote:
Originally Posted by jkelleyrtp View Post
To me, it's a slight bit "Chief-delphi-ish" to stroll through this thread and see all the team numbers; a good 50-60% in the <1000's.

5511 is a mildly successful team, rookies in 2015. We had the opportunity to go to champs last year and it really opened our eyes to the possibilities and abilities of some of the greatest FRC teams. ...
I'm not sure if you meant to convey this, but there is a strong chance you used the phrase "greatest FRC teams." to mostly (only?) refer to teams that did well on-the-field, and not to all the teams that are great at all the many other things an FRC team is asked to do.

If I got the correct impression, and on-the-field did dominate how you were selecting who is great and who isn't, it's certainly understandable that you did; but ... I'll buy a really nice dinner for the person who gives me a magic wand I can use to get that to stop happening throughout FRC (and elsewhere).

An FRC team that exists only to build excellent robots is an FRC team that is dead. An FRC team that exists to help communities and students learn to integrate pursuing, achieving and celebrating STEM things into their lives, is an FRC team that is alive and striving to be great.

My hunch is that if you guys continue what you are doing, without letting yourselves be seduced by the bright lights and dazzle of the elimination matches, you are on your way to being a great team. A great team that uses a robot to accomplish your goals, instead of being your goal. A great team that maybe never gets a blue banner, but becomes an important part of the fabric of your community. A great team that goes beyond just engaging and training the people who are already in love with STEM things. A great team whose accomplishments last much longer than any single season.

If what I have written strikes a chord in you and your teammates, definitely keep learning from great teams whenever and wherever you meet them. And, when you are deciding whether an FRC team is great, remember to look at their robots last (if at all), not first. The robot is one tool. At best it is an *imperfect* reflection of only part of a team's success. The robot is not the team.

Blake
__________________
Blake Ross, For emailing me, in the verizon.net domain, I am blake
VRC Team Mentor, FTC volunteer, 5th Gear Developer, Husband, Father, Triangle Fraternity Alumnus (ky 76), U Ky BSEE, Tau Beta Pi, Eta Kappa Nu, Kentucky Colonel
Words/phrases I avoid: basis, mitigate, leveraging, transitioning, impact (instead of affect/effect), facilitate, programmatic, problematic, issue (instead of problem), latency (instead of delay), dependency (instead of prerequisite), connectivity, usage & utilize (instead of use), downed, functionality, functional, power on, descore, alumni (instead of alumnus/alumna), the enterprise, methodology, nomenclature, form factor (instead of size or shape), competency, modality, provided(with), provision(ing), irregardless/irrespective, signage, colorized, pulsating, ideate
Last edited by gblake : 06-02-2016 at 12:26.
Reply With Quote