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Re: Effective Coaching
A good drive team coach does these things:
1. Takes full responsibility for all negative happenings on the field
2. Gives full credit to driver, operator, and hp for all positive happenings on the field
3. Shields the drive team from distractions
4. Never argues with the drive team in public
5. Evaluates the drive team and robot after each match, and allows the drive team to evaluate them, as harsh as they wish
6. Keeps the drive team calm and loose
7. Says as few words as possible
8. Thinks fast
9. Speaks clearly
10. Listens to drive team, pit crew, scouting crew
11. Listens to alliance partners and knows when to take their leadership
12. Knows when to tell alliance partner to hush and do what they are told
13. Knows more about their competition than the competition knows about them
14. Knows their alliance partner's strengths and weaknesses
15. Can handle the pressure of an entire team (and 2 partner teams), while keeping this pressure off of the driver, operator, and hp.
16. Knows the #1 person on the other teams who makes the strategy, scouting, and alliance picking decisions... and has their ear.
17. Encourages the rest of the team to be honest with the ability of the robot and current repair status.
18. Is a role model
19. Contributes to the decision regarding who is driving, operating, and hp'ing
20. Knows all of the game rules, and even the Q&A nuances
21. Knows how to talk to the head ref, and teaches that to the drive team
22. Always keeps GP in mind
23. Competes as hard as they can on the field, but offers help to other teams off of the field
24. Prepares a 16-team pick sheet, even though they are not in the top 8 teams.
25. Is responsible for the drive team to be on time for each match
26. Delegates responsibility to drive team to check robot readiness (after depending on the pit crew for preparing it)
27. Visits other team pits to see how they are doing and to do pre-match strategy and scouting
28. Watches matches with drive team, asking them what they would do in certain positions
29. Prepares "scripts" for each match, depending on alliance partners and opponents.
30. Makes sure that all alliance teams know what the "plan" is during the match.
31. DOES NOT change this "plan" 1 minute before the match starts.
32. DOES NOT dictate to alliance partners
33. Knows the score (approximate) and time of the match at all times.. and communicates this, as needed to the drive team
34. Alerts the drive team if a penalty is about to happen.
35. During the finals... if their team is the alliance captain, tells the other team that they are the lead team, but will listen to all input (or, they delegate this leadership role to a picked alliance partner)
36. During the finals... NEVER demands to be in control of the alliance if they are a picked team
37. During the finals... checks to see if the pit crew has prepared all tools and parts needed for their run to be Champions.
38. Keeps very open communication to fellow alliance coaches.
39. Asks permission from another coach if he/she can give direction to the alliance's drive team member (a coach on one team giving direction to a driver on another team).
40. Keeps alliance partner coaches off the backs of your drive team members (no other coach should be yelling at your driver)
I am sure there are more... this is enough for now. I don't want to make it tooo easy on everyone.
Andy B.
field coach in almost 300 matches, from 1998-2003, 2005 (not in 2006)... 3 Regional Championships and 1 National Championship
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