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Unread 25-12-2010, 21:28
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thefro526 thefro526 is offline
Mentor for Hire.
AKA: Dustin Benedict
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Re: Drive Team Configuration

816 has always followed the following configuration for as long as I've been involved and from what I've heard since our inception.

Driver - Responsible for the movement of the robot and getting the robot to where it needs to be. Usually we've tried to keep the driver's controls to a minimum so there is less to worry about, but we have played on giving the driver some control over other machine functions (Ramps in 2007, Dumper override in 2009 which was never used.)

Operator - Responsible for robot manipulators. Pretty straight forward, anything that's not in the drive-train is usually controlled my the operator.

Human Player - Varies with the game, and usually is the person most likely to change from year to year depending on the role. Usually this person is relatively athletic should the game call for it, otherwise this role is assigned to one of the more dedicated members that wasn't able to cut it as Operator or Driver.

Coach - This is the role I've somehow fallen into since my graduation from HS, and I take responsibility for pre-match strategy, Analyzing Scouting Info (This varies from year to year, depending on what human resources are available) and watching the match while it is in progress. I try to keep my driveteam as well informed as possible both before and during the match so that they have less to worry about.

We also have a sort of an Assistant Coach on 816, Zach. He was our Coach in 2009 and a really close friend of mine so he usually travels with the team to help with strategy, scouting, keeping me sane, match analysis, comic relief and a handful of other things. If you don't have a Zach on your team, I think you should find one.

I place a large emphasis on drive team cohesiveness (I guess that's the appropriate term) and how well the personalities mesh with each other. I've worked with a lot of different drive team configurations in my 5-seasons with FIRST and I've found that this is often over looked. In many years we'd often pick the person that was best for a single job but often conflicting personalities would hinder the drive team from reaching it's full potential. Just something to think about.

We also like to keep at least one or two back ups for each position, but we never cycle through drive teams. (anymore) Consistency is often one of the most important things when Alliance Selections come around, so you should keep this in mind. Nothing's worse that picking a team and having them switch drivers or coaches during a match - it really messes up the flow of things.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Chris is me View Post

It's your duty in FRC to your teammates and alliance partners to put the most competitive robot possible on the field.
And statements like this are why I love you, Chris.

I really might have to borrow this one.
__________________
-Dustin Benedict
2005-2012 - Student & Mentor FRC 816
2012-2014 - Technical Mentor, 2014 Drive Coach FRC 341
Current - Mentor FRC 2729, FRC 708
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