[gblake]

Originally Posted by Siri

Having been on this team as a student, I can say absolutely yes. We really weren't aiming too high, and we weren't procrastinating (any more than we do now). We just had no idea what we were doing. We had no reference for what too complicated or poor design was. We didn't shortchange our drivetrain; we just thought 2wd would be a good idea. We figured it out belatedly, but that regional was not so inspirational.
...
Should we as a league be able to fix this all in six weeks? Should they all have made mistakes that are fixable in 6 hours of unbag time? Or should we all be on our game enough to spare time for teams like this in six weeks instead of in the multiple weeks they spend staring at their robot in a bag? Okay, sure. But that's not their fault.

Hmmm, Not their fault? Agreed!

I don't think Adam or I intended "fault". There are lots of things I have the potential to do, and can't do yet; but not because it's my fault. Instead, it's because I haven't yet learned to do them. I would say the same applies to what you described.

Appreciating what you describe, and being fully sympathetic (I remember a robot lurching rather drunkenly around a field), in a thread on team sustainability, I made some suggestions that I think would apply almost as well to rookie teams as they would to struggling teams (maybe those two situations would get modestly different treatment?) (maybe the Rookie All-Star award would become the Sophomore All-Star award?).

If you care to review that other discussion, I would interested in your take on the ideas everyone floated there. I think the posts linked below cover the gist of what I eventually decided was my best idea at the time. Other people offered other good ideas.

The whole thread

I offered these, among other posts:
One, Two, Three, Four, and Five

Blake
PS: What I posted here is both a little off-topic, and a little on-topic. It's on-topic in the sense that a few ounces of pre-build preventative education that teaches important skills, and transfers a bit of wisdom, is worth a pound of post-build cure. Regardless of where any of us stand on the "hows" or "whys" of post-build bagging, that is no surprise to anyone.