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Posted by colleen - T190 at 04/20/2001 12:23 PM EST


Engineer on team #190, Gompei, from Massachusetts Academy of Math and Science and WPI.


In Reply to: What's so great about defense?
Posted by Kevin Sevcik on 04/20/2001 12:17 AM EST:



For so many years in high school, that was our focus.. we never tried to build a 'defensive' robot.. because what good is it.. because no matter how much blocking of the opposition and tipping/flipping/hitting you can do, if you can't score a point, you're never gonna win...

It just so happened that every year, the robot came out robust enough to both give and take the hits..

But I digress... I am a HUGE fan of returning to 2v2.. I think it was the BEST thing FIRST could have done to the game.. Back in the days of 1-on-1-on-1.. it allowed for teams to be 'teamed up' against.. or teams who couldn't score to just ruin some team's chance to score high.. I agree, it caused hard feelings..

But, it's kinda like the difference between your defensive line playing the game and simple unnecessary roughness.. Defensive play has just as much finesse in it as scoring a perfect game..

Defensive play is simply the ability to control the match outcome.. it's about out strategizing your opponent.. out manuvering.. out thinking and out smarting.. it's not really tipping, flipping, hitting and roughing them up..

Example: 2000 NJ Regional.. Match #84.. Team 246 (last seed.. zero average QPs) w/ Team 121.. vs Team #47 (#1 seed.. 60-70 average QPs) w/ Team 88... were it not for 'defense' we would have continued our zero QP average.. but we went out.. and strategically parked parallel under Delphi/TJ's goal.. #47 tried scoring.. they couldn't translate around us, and they couldn't reach the goal.. they drove around, we ducked under the bar and caught them on the other side.. Meanwhile, 121 was doing the same to keep TJ off the ramp.. at the last minute 121 blew a fuse and TJ got on.. 47/88 ended up winning the match 5-2...

No robots were harmed.. no scratches even given.. it was simply we thought about the game, how to beat a high scoring robot... and we came very very close to doing it.. I still was awed by the engineering marvel that the Delphi robot was.. The crowd still gave a standing O.. It gave our alliance the opportunity to cheer like we had won the superbowl.. and earn some congrats from some on the opposing teams..

And that match.. not any robot tipping, hard-hitting match won the "Best Defensive Round Award"

So keep the no tipping, 10-second-pinning rules, etc.. but make it a game where just because you can't outscore your opponent you have a chance of winning..

Beatty had an amazing robot this year.. and you'll be VERY hard pressed to find an alliance that can beat 710 that DOESN'T have them in it... but imagine the game where you had the chance to actually play on the field with Beatty.. against their alliance.. instead of sitting by and watching.. knowing it is engineeringly and physically impossible to beat their alliance.. you could go out there and have even a little say in your own ability to continue on in the competition...

I never made more friends, admired more teams, or was more in awe than in '99 and '00.. this year, I definitely went back to the 'disliking' of teams.. cause when you go out, and someone falls over on the ramp.. and you can only rack up a mere 20pts.. what kind of game is that?? you can do everything possible and someone else messes up... or you mess up and do that to others? I think it cause more adverse feelings than back in the day of 1-on-1-on-1..

So I think..

Build a robot that can beat the opponent.. It's very simple.. and works wonder in a 2v2 game.. cause there was nothing to 'beat' this year.. either robots could handle it or not.. and when you couldn't, you had no choice in the matter.. and it definitely wasn't a good feeling...