[Justin Montois]

I can tell you that your situation is by no means uncommon. I've been around since 2005 and almost every year our team has had some sort of conflict over design but it almost always is before we make our decision.

It's important to make sure that once you settle on a design as a TEAM you stick with it. I personally do not support your team leader working on a separate design as a back up. His time could be better spent making spares for the team approved design. If you were in the prototype phase then sure, if he wants to prototype a different design then fine, but once it's time to work on the final design, you can't have people second guessing that.

I feel the same way that you do when it comes to "you'd rather lose with a bot you made then win with someone else's." In 2006, we didn't build an elite robot, but it was a solid team effort and I'm proud of it.

Don't forget that your team leader is a rookie too. It's going to take some time for him to learn how to be most affective in that capacity. He will learn a lot from the past Woodie Flowers Award winners at FLR if he takes the time to talk to them.

The best thing you can do is get a sense of how the majority of the team feels and go in that direction. I know it may create some tension between the groups but in the end you are all on the same team and it's too late in the season to still be battling over designs. You guys need to get united together cause if your team leader is really concerned about winning, then a united team behind a common effort is the only way that's going to happen.

I can't wait to play Lunacy with you guys at FLR and I know that you and your team can overcome this and have a successful season. Good luck and see ya at FLR!

-Justin