Correlation between driving skill and practice field availability

[rcmolloy]

Originally Posted by Cory

I would argue there is no better way to be successful in FRC than to have access to a practice field and have a practice robot.

True Cory, however, there are some kids that a extremely talented when they are behind the sticks. I know it may be a real long shot at them being Einstein quality drivers but it is still a start.

If any teams have the resources and time to do both a practice bot and a comp bot, the results are far more than improved driver skill. Trade offs like improvised design and integration are great to do with your practice bot because they will help you determine the installation process before changing or adding a system to your competition bot.

[smurfgirl]

Having practice time definitely improves teams' performance - it allows the drive team to become familiar with the robot and practice working together. You don't necessarily need a full-sized practice field - you could recreate the key elements and set those up to practice - but no one is going to tell you that good practice doesn't help. Practicing with other teams is a good idea too, because then you can recreate the feel of multiple robots playing at once.

[Tom Bottiglieri]

You don't need a practice field to win a regional where other teams don't have a practice field. However, the opposite is also true.

As far as the correlation stuff goes.. a practice field doesn't cause success but dedicated mentors and students causes a practice field AND success.

[Katie_UPS]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

How can you guys say that correlation doesn't imply causation with regards to practice time and driving skill? Of course practice time will increase driving skill.

Yes, practice makes perfect.

However, most successful teams aren't successful because they have a practice field.

Originally Posted by Basel A

The OP wanted to show that great teams have practice fields; that doesn't mean much.

Exactly my point. Teams that have practice fields are also, often times, teams that work harder.

Maybe they field in more sponsors, and some of those "extra" sponsors are what pay for the field, while others give them money/services that allow them to make more complex robots (ie a company that provides water jetting).

Maybe they have more students that they can allocate students whose job is to build the practice field, which means other students specialize in their particular job (such as manipulator, chassis, etc) and can work harder at said function.

Maybe there is a team that just has a practice field because some team parents decided they wanted to help out, and I'm completely wrong.

None the less, there a lot of other things that go into making a team perform well, that you can't assume having a practice field is what sets them apart.

[Ian Curtis]

Originally Posted by Katie_UPS

Yes, practice makes perfect.

However, most successful teams aren't successful because they have a practice field.

1114 isn't 1114 because they have a practice field. However your average team will certainly notice an improvement in their performance if they have adequate room to practice, and it seems like that is what we're really after here. For example, in Week 1 of 2010, the average alliance scored about 2.25 points. That's less than 1 ball per robot! Herding those balls wasn't easy, but I'm pretty sure with practice and just a drivetrain you could get more than 1 a match.

No one is saying if you get a practice field you'll be the next 71. What they are saying is you've got a much better chance to play on Saturday afternoon if you've got more time behind the sticks than everyone else. I don't have any hard numbers here, but anyone whose every played any sport, or learned any task should be able to see that that makes a great deal of sense.

(It's great that a lot of the people in this thread have taken Stats, but it's important to make sure you don't let your knowledge of the theory interfere with practical use of it.)

[AdamHeard]

The thoroughly fair argument is that practice will lead to improvement.

I like to explain it like videogames. If you only play 10 minutes, you'll just barely be moving around. After an hour, you're a lot better, but still getting the hang of it. After 10 hours, you're a lot better, but not great. After 100 hours, you're getting there, etc...

Most teams only get an hour of driving all season, sometimes less. Some teams get 100+ hours before their first match, who is going to get more out of their robot?

[Al Skierkiewicz]

If you have two robots, one very well designed and one just so-so...
The so-so gets a lot of practice while the well designed just sits waiting for ship. The so-so robot will win close to all of the matches. Practice makes perfect especially in clutch situations. Driving has to become almost second nature. You don't have to have a practice field, but you do have to get stick time. Whether it is in the cafeteria or the hallway or one team I heard practiced in the library, you have to get some time in driver's seat. For this reason, I recommend to teams that I inspect, who have never driven, to get as much time on the practice field as possible.