Timid Drivers

[nitneylion452]

During competition, there are few things more frustrating to a coach than a timid driver. Often the drivers on my team are afraid to really show what they can do with the controls when on the competition field. I was wondering what some coaches do in the heat of the moment to encourage their drivers to let loose and not hold back?

[JamesCH95]

I've found that many times the drivers know everything that can go wrong with the robot, and it preoccupies their mind. Remind them that your team can fix anything they can break and that they need to push the robot to do its best during a match the same way the team pushes themselves to be their best during build.

[R1ffSurf3r]

bumpers are there for a reason. don't hesitate to use them

[davidthefat]

To be honest, yelling seems to be counter intuitive... Yes, I have yelled at drivers, but mostly due to the background noise. They get more withdrawn and timid because they are afraid to mess up.

Just let them remember that there are just very few chances like this. If your drivers are seniors, this will be their last chance to do something like this. Just remind them that there will never be something quite like a FIRST robotics competition. Also, Seniors tend to have the most experience, they know how things roll and they just want to get things done, not saying that underclassmen don't, but just a generalization.

Also, I find that the more aggressive drivers tend to do better. I have been known to be rather bold when it comes to my strategies regarding robotics. My mentality is: just go for it.

[thefro526]

I was told one thing when I was learning to drive way back when.

"A robot can always be fixed - but a match can never be replayed".

It was our Drive Team's Motto in 2007, 2008 and 2009 - anyone who saw me drive in 2009 knows I took it to heart.

Since then, I've told every on-season driver the same thing and have yet to have a problem with a timid driver. To be honest, I only select drivers that have some degree of natural aggression when behind the sticks. Not enough to lose their cool, but enough to put the robot where it needs to be without fear of getting the bumpers dirty. If someone proves that they're not up to putting the robot where it needs to be, they will not make the cut.

[J_Miles]

I'm a four-year senior this year on our team. With our team, drivers have always historically been seniors, and, while it's not a guarantee that this will always be the case, it's very likely in my mind. With that said, our week one event will not be my first competition behind the controls. After the senior drivers graduate each season, our team selects a new drive-team for our off-season events.

Going into the season, now, I've driven at four competitions, and won two. Personally, I think that nerves are something that are difficult to overcome during the competition if one isn't prepared. A lot of it has to do with the student's composure in general. That's not to say, though, that a student driver cannot overcome the nerves. The best thing to do is to get out on the practice field as much as possible. Believe you me, it's a lot easier to be willing to fly around the field when you're actually on the field. Our build facility is one without lots of space, and what space we do have is filled with some expensive equipment that doesn't belong to us...so when we practice in facility extra care has to be taken to make sure nothing gets broken. In that way, getting onto the field has me feeling a lot more "free." Maybe that sort of experience might help. If a student isn't comfortable, get him/her comfortable driving in adverse conditions, so that driving on the actual field feels more natural and even easier.

Truly it all comes down to the ability to handle pressure, to take criticism, and to respond to instruction while still being independent, making quick decisions, and being aggressive. The unfortunate truth is that not all students are capable of driving. The best way of figuring this out, I think, is asking the student for an honest assessment of his or her abilities. If the student feels too nervous, I tend to think he or she would be willing to come out and tell you that he or she isn't comfortable doing it.

[wireties]

Our drivers have a motto -"Drive it like you stole it!". It makes for a long day fixing the robot after most matches but they seem to have a lot of fun!

[akoscielski3]

Get them on the field during practice day. My first ever match last year i was extremely nervous, as i never drove on the competitions field before. (also my controls were backwards -.- ). After my first match on the practice field i started to get use to driving under pressure. It became easy to communicate with my fellow driver and my mentor.

Drivers need to know the robot perfectly inside and out to know its potential. I am the designer of this years robot and the mechanical leader, so i know the robot more than anyone. I know what the limits of it are and what it is capable of. You dont wanna push your robot so far that your always working on it after every match, but you need to know how far you can push it. This year is gonna be awesome to drive! Can't wait!

Last year was my first year driving (gr 10) and i am the driver (with my fellow driver) until I graduate. We think this will benefit the team a lot because we will be use to driving out on the field. I think during my gr 12 year (2013 season) we will start training new drivers to get them use to driving tho.

Good luck

[Laaba 80]

Originally Posted by wireties

Our drivers have a motto -"Drive it like you stole it!". It makes for a long day fixing the robot after most matches but they seem to have a lot of fun!

They used to tell me that, then once they realized I did drive it like I stole it, they changed to "If you lose the match and the robot doesn't come back broken, you didn't drive hard enough." This year, people have started saying "Drive it like Joey."

I do think me not knowing much about the mechanical portion of the robot allowed me to push it to the limit. I knew that if I did anything stupid we had a great group of people that would be able to fix it, although our breakaway robot had a tendency of breaking the field before it would break. That drive team worked pretty well, as I was the lead programmer, and the other driver was one of our head mechanical guys. If anything went wrong during the match we usually had a pretty good idea of what it was.

[DonRotolo]

Originally Posted by wireties

"Drive it like you stole it!".

Originally Posted by Laaba 80

"If you lose the match and the robot doesn't come back broken, you didn't drive hard enough."

That's it exactly.

[Lil' Lavery]

Drive through the ball, not to the ball.

[JesseK]

The hardest thing I've had to communicate to drivers is how to take proper angles to catch another robot rather than chasing said robot. It'd help if there wasn't a 100dB speaker right next to the field. Offseason events help alot with building confidence.

[V_Chip]

To quote my drive coach:

"Drive deliberately... I trust you know what to do anyway."

[PayneTrain]

We will have a senior reprising his role as primary driver for the third and final time, and I will be serving as primary student coach/strategist for my third and final time. Our human player has played all four years, and our secondary is returning for his second year.

We're a tight group. We're never not at meetings. Our primary is a programmer who knows the limits of the controls, but not what a mechanical person believes to be the limit of the robot. He is the only driver I have seen bullying/pinning teams while on a mecanum drive. Our secondary is very involved with the manipulator, tested it for speed, distance, and accuracy, and knows its sweet spots.

Our primary has said I love the game and FIRST more than everyone on the team combined. I've played around with different math ideas, game breaking, ideal practices, and I go out to other teams to show them how awesome our robots are. Our other coach, who serves with me when I can't make it, has the same kind of passion and literally the same name) as me.

Our human player has the best hand-eye coordination on the team, probably outscoring our robot in 2009, only letting by 1 foul in 2010, and throwing tube onto the robot in 2011. No reason he can't chuck the ball in a hoop in the last 30 seconds, right?

A tight knit, seasoned group of individuals who understand the robot, the mission of FIRST, and the volatile seeding and eliminations rounds.

[Jon Stratis]

Have you tried offering them $5 for every time they bring the robot back broken?

In all honesty, we find constant encouragement helps a ton. After the match, don't talk to them about what they should have done - talk to them about what they did well. That will help to build their confidence, which will in turn make them more agressive. Plus, they'll know what they're doing well, and they'll try to do everything else better as a result.

Or, you could just go the route the father of our main driver suggested the other night... give her a shot before every match. I think he was joking. Or I should say hope