[Chris Fultz]

I think these decisions and selections are based on different criteria.

The team captain should be someone who knows and understands how the team operates, can communicate with all team members, can represent the team with sponsors and others and is willing to put in a lot of time to help the team succeed.

The drive team should be the best combination of 4 team members (students / adults as the team decides) who can get the most out of the robot, represent the team well on the field, and implement agreed alliance strategies.

The pit crew should be the group best suited to maintain the robot in a ready to play condition between matches.

Sometimes these groups / individuals overlap, but i don't believe it should be restricted as a specific yes or no.

My personal preference is that these groups are all separate individuals. This allows the drive team to focus on creating a good match strategy (with support from the scouting team) and then completing the match, while the pit crew focuses on getting the robot repaired and ready for the next match. The team captain, meanwhile, can be making sure all of the team is engaged, talk to judges or focus on other areas where needed.

This approach not only allows each group to focus on their primary responsibilty, it allows more students to be in key leadership roles for the team.