Which teams have the best drivers?

[Dancin103]

This is a great subject and it is discussed all the time. The drive is what makes the robot work efficiently and effectively. You could have the greatest machine on the field, but without the optimum driver to make it work in it's greatest capacity, that great robot won't be great.

There are many fantastic drivers in FRC and they all deserve a round of applause and a pat on the back. Being able to drive a robot is not an everyday task, it is difficult and takes a lot of skill and coordination. It takes a lot to be a driver, and it takes a lot of practice to make perfect precision.

We have always had reputable drivers. We had a driver that graduated in 2008, JB, the things that he could do with our robot in the time frame he did them are just crazy. I remember a match in Philly in 2008, there were maybe 7 seconds left on the clock, and we had to make it all the way around the field and shoot the track ball over. We launched the track ball up, it knocked the other alliances ball out of place and ours fell in the spot. He whipped the robot around to the other side of the field and crossed the line. The space he had to cross the line was about half a centimeter greater than our width. It was crazy!

Anyway, other reputable drivers, other than my own, would be 1114, 111, 16, 179, and 330. They all have displayed unbelievable ability on the field. Keep up the great work!

Cass

[rarprrydude234]

From my personal experience, which i was a driver for team 234 from the off-season in 2006 (freshman year of HS) to 2009 off-season at the IRI, numerous teams we had worked with had what i would call good drivers. However being able to also see it from a mentors perspective now with teams 2360 (2010) and now back with team 234 (2011), drivers are an extremely important aspect to the FRC competitions.

You must have a group at the controls and a mentor(coach) with them that can get along, have trust, as well as maintain a level but cool head while still being extremely intense. One of the biggest things i think that helped the success that we had when i was driving was the fact that myself and the operator were talking constantly in and out of matches and also would yell and argue a lot. Our drive coach had said at one point, and this may not be the exact quote from Mr. Chris Fultz, but it has to be close... he had said he loved being a coach for myself and the operator (Sam G.) because he had to give just a little input because we were always at each others throats ourselves during and after each match for what we did wrong and what we can improve.

With that said, it also goes back to robot functionality and its components where a key one, in my point of view, is programming and the controls. Each year i have been with a team, the driver and operator sit down with a few manufacturers about half to 3/4's through the season and decide how they want to drive/operate. Without certain functions on the controls, operating the robot would be extremely difficult. In 2007 with our arm on our tube hanging robot, we had each peg level pre-et. This year, another tube hanging game, we have pre-sets again. The operator has a switch for the middle set of pegs which allows for the extra height needed.

I have been out in the workforce some with one of our sponsors recently as well as worked with other manufacturing companies locally in Indianapolis. Seeing people operate the "non-programmable" lathes, mills, cncs, etc. it has become apparent to me that the saying is true - the operator can only be as good as the best tool he has. Without the right tools, you can only be so efficient.

Also i can say that having as much practice as possible before going to a competition is extremely important! Even if it is just driving a chassis.

I believe what i am trying to say is that there is a certain combination - drive coach, driver, operator, robot, controls, and programming - that are truly needed before it can be a winning robot. Although to continue with some of the posts prior to this, some drivers over the year, in my personal opinion, have been a key necessity to pulling it all together when needed.

[AmoryG]

It's no coincidence that many of the best drivers come from powerhouse teams such as 111, 16, 1114, and 1503. All these teams are well organized, have more resources, and probably have a better educated student and mentor body than most teams. That said, these teams probably have tighter schedules, practice robots and full playing field, or anything else that allows their drive team the luxury of weeks to practice before competition. Usually the drivers with the most practice, especially with a practice field and other robots to compete with, will perform better in competition.

This has always been the case for my team, which never seems to finish the robot until the day before we ship. No one on my team had much time to practice with the robot, but I being a student programmer, had plenty of time to test our code before we shipped. I also was more accustomed with the control system than pretty much any eligible driver my team. Because of this, I was always one of the team's drivers, and had far more time to compete with it than anyone else.

[Chris is me]

You can produce a good driver without a practice robot.
You do have 10 months between seasons where you could drive the old robot in order to train people.

[Peter Matteson]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

You can produce a good driver without a practice robot.
You do have 10 months between seasons where you could drive the old robot in order to train people.

Shhhhh.

Don't give away the secret of driver training with old robots! Now teams are going to know that practicing with anything you have available is the best way to make you drivers better.

[robotz]

I've been keeping a close eye on 233!....
-at UCF they didn't even have a robot until well into qualifications matches, let alone on practice day... and then their tower wasn't even ready to run for a while there (go tower operator)!
But as soon as there's something operable, there they are, working their way to the top!!!

Some pretty skilled drivers if you ask me...

Don't even get me started on that base driver...

[Dancin103]

It's about precision and consistency between the driver, operator, coach, and human player. If you have a team in the box that cannot communicate with one another, then things will not run as smoothly. Communication is key.

[nlknauss]

Originally Posted by Dancin103

It's about precision and consistency between the driver, operator, coach, and human player. If you have a team in the box that cannot communicate with one another, then things will not run as smoothly. Communication is key.

Totally agree with everything up there. This also relates back to strategy and being able to recognize what's happening on the field and making decisions. You could have a driver that is at the top of their game knowing how the robot moves and still have tunnel vision set on just their machine on the field.

As soon as I saw this thread and saw that a member of 25 posted it, I thought back to 2003 when I was a drive coach on 87. I think the student driving that robot was actually built into the control system. It was fun to watch, but not fun to go up against...especially when it came down to finals!

Nate

[Nuttyman54]

I don't know their names, and I know there's been more than one throughout the years, but I have to nominate 177 here.

You don't make it to Einstein 5 years straight, and net yourself 2 World Championships in that time without some darn good hands on the sticks. The past four of those appearances were as the 3rd partner on the alliance, on the 8th, 2nd, 5th and 1st seeded alliances. It doesn't matter what their robot is, they drive it well enough to make sure their alliance gets to Einstein, and win matches even when the odds are against them. That's not luck, that's skill.

[Dancin103]

Originally Posted by nlknauss

As soon as I saw this thread and saw that a member of 25 posted it, I thought back to 2003 when I was a drive coach on 87. I think the student driving that robot was actually built into the control system. It was fun to watch, but not fun to go up against...especially when it came down to finals!

Nate

I remember that all too well! If I remember right Nate, they beat us out for the gold twice!

Cass

[nlknauss]

Originally Posted by Dancin103

I remember that all too well! If I remember right Nate, they beat us out for the gold twice!

Cass

Haha...yep, twice! Once at the (then named) Mid-Atlantic Regional and again in Curie Division finals. Driver of that robot was one of the best!

[theschell]

team 768 got some good drivers this year they pop a chain and still get that minibot up the tower. and with them playing defense the team still was able to win two weeks in a row this year.

[MarcD79]

Everybody has their favorites, whether it be east coast, west coast, Canada, south or in between. The fact is it takes a lot of practice behind the joysticks of your robot. I have not see all the above robots personally, but I have seen enough to say it takes the team, not just the driver. A driver can't do it alone. He has help from the coach, other operator & team members in the stands who can see from a different vantage point. They all contribute their knowledge & experience.

[The Lucas]

Originally Posted by nlknauss

As soon as I saw this thread and saw that a member of 25 posted it, I thought back to 2003 when I was a drive coach on 87. I think the student driving that robot was actually built into the control system. It was fun to watch, but not fun to go up against...especially when it came down to finals!

Nate

Steve, the 25 driver from 2003 is probably the best driver I have ever seen. 25 always has great drivers (Corey is another one). The most incredible thing about Steve was that he drove a low profile bot, spent the majority of the match on the far side of field the with a giant ramp in his sight line and he was 5'8". He essentially drove blind at the entire match (this was before camera feedback for those newer to FIRST ) at a speed so fast the bot would catch air over the top of the ramp and land on the down ramp.
As an opposing driver, you would think that you could stop 25 from destroying your box stack or get past 25 to go to the ramp because you can see both bots and Steve can't. You would be dead wrong. Other teams put devices like big orange arrows on poles to so the drivers could determine their bearing on the far side of the field. Steve determined his bearing by the flying box shards left in his wake

This year I have to give major props to 1114's base driver for the ability to align the bot to the peg in high gear. Their arm operator is totally in sync. During that 150 match, they put up a mid Logo in like 15 sec.

[Nawaid Ladak]

Originally Posted by thefro526

From what I've seen, 1503 probably has the best driver in FRC right now. He's FAST.

Originally Posted by Chris is me

Nick Lawrence.

totally agree. He's at the top of my list along with the drivers from 111, 148, 179 and 1114. Driving isn't a easy skill. it takes A LOT of practice. I've head stories of teams staying up until 3AM practicing with practice bots the week of competition. Those 8 hour driver sessions really do make a difference.