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.

[Tommithy]

16, 148, 1114, 111,

[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.

[AmoryG]

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.

Originally Posted by Peter Matteson

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.

Yes, I know this. But even if anyone could become a great driver just by practicing with an old robot, you're still assuming no teams dismantle their old robots, or that teams even have a place to meet during most of the off season (since my old team was moved within my high school this season, I'm not entirely sure how this will limit their time within the robotics lab). And yes, even if teams dismantle old robots they have the ability to recycle old parts in order to build practice bots. However, that does not mean they have the ability to create something that's entirely appropriate for that year's competition, particularly because not all teams can build a second robot before their first competition.

And yes, and I agree any practice at all no matter what you use is good stuff, but teams that are capable of producing a practice bot with an appropriate drive train and arm effectors have a clear advantage over teams that don't. Our team, for example, did not have a swerve drive to practice with until we built one in our second year, and even if we wanted to build another robot with a swerve drive next year, we still wouldn't have a swerve drive to practice with since my team had to dismantle it. And I know this thread isn't about how well a team can control their arm effectors, but if teams don't have the time to practice and tune those either, it's hard to say how effective they will be in competition.

I'm not saying that teams that aren't as great as 111, 16, etc. can't have capable drivers. I know many teams, including my own, have time to train their drivers using practice bots. However, there is no substitute for practicing with the actual competiton bot, or a bot with similar capabilities. And I'm sure the powerhouses can agree that there is no better way to practice than in the actual competitions. Many teams, including the best ones, improve between competitions, and I think it's partly because drivers are better suited for that year's competition after they have actually competed in one. Since many of the powerhouses compete in multiple regionals, their drivers have experience many teams could not have.

To answer the OP, I guess if you really want to see what good driving looks like, look at powerhouse teams, especially those that are competing in their 2nd or 3rd regional. Look out for 148 when they compete again, along with the other teams suggested in this thread. 148 had one of the smoothest and most polished robots I've ever seen, and their drivers make using it look easy.

[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

[smistthegreat]

Originally Posted by thefro526

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

Yeah, Nick's pretty much the man and would definitely be on my short list. Also, 1114 is always spectacular, as are the other perennial powerhouses such as 217 and 148.

Edit: I definitely also have to cast my vote for 177 (and 121), our partners that we won Newton with during Lunacy. Their driving was spectacular.

[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!

[Frenchie461]

from the reigonal i was at, I nominate 234's drive team.
You know, there's enough people on Chief, we should actually create an unofficial driver award, maybe a rookie driver too.