[Swampdude]

I'm not sure what you call lateral movement. If there's a lane open and the opponent could get around me but I stay between them and their ball, or pin the ball, or ride along side them and head them off at each attempt to a ball (all while leaving a lane open) thats not pinning or impeding. and seems simple in my mind, I haven't tried it yet, but... 1/2 of the grippers I've seen grab the ball on the sides (horizontally), which means if im on the front side of thier bot, but moving along with them they can't get the gripper out around the ball. All a driver needs to do is look ahead of the opponent their defending and go to the balls they're coming up on (again, as long as there's a lane open) I think picking up a ball while another bot is on it is going to be a real feat few bots can do.