I started a new team this year and purchased the NI ROCK with CIMple box with C-Base Chassis, 6" FIRST wheels (am-0951) (
http://www.andymark.com/product-p/am-0951.htm) and it was one of the smartest things that I did. It meant that the kickoff was not quite so overwhelming for the team. They were familiar with the parts and knew how they went together. It also meant that we had the programmers up and running with a prototype the first day because all we had to do was drop in the C-Rio which we wouldn't need until later in the build process. We also had spare parts available as we built the competition robot. Our poor little prototype bot was denuded as the season went on.
In addition to the kit, get parts that allow you to attach "stuff" to motors shafts or axles for prototyping. I am still kicking myself that I didn't have hubs like these
http://www.andymark.com/Hubs-s/215.htm on hand to attach wheels to axles for our shooter prototype. I had forgotten how much we used them on my old team and we wasted time waiting for parts.
My other piece of advice is to put as much effort into the Rookie All Star award as you do the robot. Getting that award is much more "controllable" than winning with the robot. There isn't as much luck involved. If the robot breaks down or you get unfortunate alliances, then you are done for the season. However, if you have the team work hard on the All Star stuff early in the year(fall), you have developed a team that understands what FIRST is about and you have started them on the outreach mission that is the focus of FIRST. If you win Rookie All Star, you are qualified to go to the World Championships where the team can see what they are aspiring to. This also helps to make the team more sustainable because the blunt truth is that sponsors like winners. If you can establish that early, it will make fundraising easier the next year. And kids want to be on a winning team. If the rest of the school sees that you have won and gotten to go to World Championships, it will be easier to recruit members the next year.
And when I say there is luck involved in winning with the robot, I do not mean that it is only luck, but Murphy hits the best of us. An good robot lucky enough to be paired with good alliances all day will get picked over a robot that is just as good but had been unlucky enough to be in weak alliances. Most teams do not have a scouting system that is sophisticated enough to select the overlooked "diamond in the rough" and only look at the rankings. Even one of the Championship winners,Bomb Squad, was having problems all day and was ranked 27th. They were not showing as well as they had at their previous regionals. (We played them in KC and thought they were awesome). They were fortunate that SPAM was sophisticated enough to see past that,and that doesn't always happen at local regionals.
So I like to have as much effort put into the awards that are more "controllable." Either we put enough effort in, or we didn't. And I make sure that all the awards are respected as much as the finalist award. Winning with the robot is the cherry on top, but may be a rare occurrence.
It may not happen overnight, but in time if you keep focused and keep working hard, it will become a reality. - Michael Sperber [more] 
10-05-2012, 13:38
Hybrid Mode
