Fall Training Program

[Marina Dimitrov]

Originally Posted by Wing

...try to build one before the season starts, and what I like to do as an exercise is to design a robot for a previous year's game. Design it completely, and if resources permit, fabricate it. This allows the team to go through the full design process once before the season starts, and allows the team to gain experience designing a robot and being hands on with it.

Very well put. This is exactly why us Flaming Chickens (and I assume many other local teams that participate) appreciate our BunnyBots event so much. A build season and competition experience prior to FRC is really beneficial to teams of all levels, from rookies learning the ropes to veterans testing out crazy prototype ideas that just might work (and often do!).

I'd love to see more multi-team, off-season events that are more than just taking robots from previous years' competitions for some more driving experience. I feel that actually going through a whole FRC-style design, fabrication, programming, testing, fixing (etc...), and competition process for a unique game before FRC build season really makes a positive impact on a team's performance and, more importantly, their students' FIRST experience.