[Brad Voracek]

This is a heartstrung, tough issue for my team (well... myself really). I've been an operator for the past two years, and this year I was the driver for our robot. First off being on the drive team period is a tough job, filled with stress, and you need to be working with people who all work well with each other, and are willing to listen to each other and take criticism. I've had the opportunity to coach some matches at scrimmages, and my take on it is that the driver/operator are focusing mostly on their robot and what they are supposed to be doing, while the coach is focusing on the entire field, all the robots, and relaying the big picture of what is going on to the two of them.

For my first two years we had a college student coach, who I loved, he had experience on the field and had been coach since he was on the team as a student. He was always familiar with the rules (something I pride myself with now) and he made sure to communicate with the other coaches on our alliance and give the big picture, what our tasks should be at a certain moment, and let the nuances of how to do it go on to the drive team. This I feel is the best way to effectively use your drive team resources, and get the best out of everyone. One of my favorite things about being on the drive team is about being able to work with the other coaches, the other teams. A top moment of mine last year in atlanta was when we was allianced with 111, Wildstang, and their coach (Raul) knew exactly what was going on (he also happened to be an adult). Although they may not remember the alliance to me it was a learning experience. The ability to have coaches work with each other is a huge factor.

This year our manufactoring team 'leader', a student, was absolutely against having a non-student coach, so guess who filled the role? Himself, who I don't feel was qualified for the position. I don't want to bash on my team, he had good intentions, but since he was in a position of power and wanted to do it I don't think he looked at all of his resources to the fullest, and it really wasn't his decision in the first place, but that's another issue with my team for another thread and another day.

To get back to the point, which I think has been said in this thread already, I think it should be someone who is familiar with the robot, the rules, and is an effective communicator. I don't think whether this person is a student or not is the main issue, but it just happens that adults who are completely enthralled with the ideas and purpose of FIRST tend to have the understanding, experience, and the skills for the coaching position. Hopefully whether they are student or not is not a factor into them being coach.