View Single Post
  #13   Spotlight this post!  
Unread 19-04-2009, 10:18
Billfred's Avatar
Billfred Billfred is offline
...and you can't! teach! that!
FRC #5402 (Iron Kings); no team (AndyMark)
Team Role: Mentor
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Rookie Year: 2004
Location: The Land of the Kokomese, IN
Posts: 8,489
Billfred has a reputation beyond reputeBillfred has a reputation beyond reputeBillfred has a reputation beyond reputeBillfred has a reputation beyond reputeBillfred has a reputation beyond reputeBillfred has a reputation beyond reputeBillfred has a reputation beyond reputeBillfred has a reputation beyond reputeBillfred has a reputation beyond reputeBillfred has a reputation beyond reputeBillfred has a reputation beyond repute
Re: Lessons Learned - The Positive

-Lunacy forced everyone to take a step back and think about their drive systems. A lot of (but not all) of a team's dogma and secret sauce took a back seat this year. It was rather refreshing.
-Having human players all around the field made the game more interesting, particularly when players were smart about their usage of balls. Having nowhere to hide kept the match moving...usually.
-The cRIO switch went pretty well. There are definitely places to improve, but neither of my teams had any issues this season.
-Q&A was pretty straightforward after the normal first week tomfoolery. The battery-as-withholding-allowance ruling was a little rough, but I applaud FIRST for altering the call before it impacted a week of events. All told, I only recall one or two decisions that induced groans out of me. (More on that in the other thread.)
-The effects of G14 were expressed very clearly on-screen.
-I applaud FIRST for at least trying to select a game piece that could be found locally for many teams. They got burned on it this year, since Wal-Mart decided to discontinue the orbit ball just before Kickoff, but I can't fault FIRST for that.
-I liked the Chairman's video component. It seemed that the teams who won handled it well.
-It seemed that the nature of the game led to fewer breakages among robots. There was still a rash of no-show-itis among teams at Bayou in qualifying, but I can't think of any event where an alternate was called in (much to my personal chagrin, as Backup #2 on Curie).

I'm sure I'll think of more.
__________________
William "Billfred" Leverette - Gamecock/Jessica Boucher victim/Marketing & Sales Specialist at AndyMark

2004-2006: FRC 1293 (D5 Robotics) - Student, Mentor, Coach
2007-2009: FRC 1618 (Capital Robotics) - Mentor, Coach
2009-2013: FRC 2815 (Los Pollos Locos) - Mentor, Coach - Palmetto '09, Peachtree '11, Palmetto '11, Palmetto '12
2010: FRC 1398 (Keenan Robo-Raiders) - Mentor - Palmetto '10
2014-2016: FRC 4901 (Garnet Squadron) - Co-Founder and Head Bot Coach - Orlando '14, SCRIW '16
2017-: FRC 5402 (Iron Kings) - Mentor

93 events (more than will fit in a ChiefDelphi signature), 13 seasons, over 60,000 miles, and still on a mission from Bob.

Rule #1: Do not die. Rule #2: Be respectful. Rule #3: Be safe. Rule #4: Follow the handbook.
Reply With Quote