[EricH]

Originally Posted by Bharat Nain

If I had to pick something I'd say scouting. Are there any kids on your team who are good scouts? Then you can sit and research teams and at competitions you know what to do and who to talk to. Tip: The history of teams plays a major role in their performance every year.

Scouting is probably the number one most overlooked area in FIRST. I hav actually seen two teams at the same event who did not do their scouting have to borrow a sheet from another team. Don't be one of those teams who says, "Aw, we'll never make it to the eliminations, we don't need scouting," and is caught unprepared when someone else thinks they are the best team around and neither team has a scouting sheet. Find or make a sheet that you can use and train at least one or two others (preferably the whole team) in the use of it. Try the Scouting Forum or Whitepapers for examples.