What does your team do during the off-season?

[Negative 9]

In past years our team really only met during build season. This year we found much greater success because we decided to do some building activities during the preseason. As a result we've decided that we want to continue meeting into the off season. We were wondering what other teams usually do in the offseason. Any ideas?

[nikeairmancurry]

Offseason events! Try new drivers, bring prospective students and continue to have fun!

[Herbblood]

Team bonding, or make an offseason project. Last year we were working on a t-shirt launcher, it really helped a lot of the newbies learn about designing different things.

[bardd]

Shortly after our last event of the season, we have a management change: the seniors "graduate", and the juniors take their places as the team leaders, according to the management formation they choose for themselves.
Immediately after we begin recruiting new members (may-june-ish).
Our first actual robot-related activity is workshops we hold at the beginning of summer vacation, in which we teach our new recruits all the basics they need to actively participate in the build season, each in the field of the subteam he chose to join.
After summer vacation (during most of which we don't have access to our workshop because the school is closed), we start preparing for the Israeli OffSeason that takes place in september (usually): fixing the robot, improving it, maybe making changes or adding new mechanisms.
Almost immediately after the competition, we start preparing for FLFL, an offseason event with a different, easier game designed to help teams train and so that the new students experience something similar to a build season. During the preperations for FLFL (where we build a new robot from scratch), we work exactly as we do during build season, only with less frequent meetings, but wego through the same proscess as during build season.
Kickoff is usually two-three weeks after the FLFL competition.

If you have any questions about any of this just PM me and I'd love to answer.

[jee7s]

Off season? Off season?! There is no off season! (Thanks 3999).

Seriously, though, I'd suggest that teams approach FIRST as a means of continuous improvement. As has been suggested, take on projects to practice your design skills and go to off-season events. (I hear there's a good one in Austin, Texas the last weekend in July...but I'm hardly impartial in my opinion on that.)

Just make sure that whatever you do is SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-limited). Don't get embroiled in a quagmire that doesn't get finished or becomes too frustrating. Focus on a few things to improve on and improve on them. It doesn't have to be building a robot. It could be organizing your shop, helping out with a construction project, practicing skills...whatever it is, make sure it is improving some part of your team that will make it more successful next year.

[Hallry]

Originally Posted by Negative 9

In past years our team really only met during build season. This year we found much greater success because we decided to do some building activities during the preseason. As a result we've decided that we want to continue meeting into the off season. We were wondering what other teams usually do in the offseason. Any ideas?

Besides for other projects (Eg., 254's Shockwave), recruiting new members, and demoing in the community/to sponsors, there are tons of offseason unofficial events to attend. I know of at least one near you in Virginia (The Ilite Robotics Offseason Challenge (IROC) at Battlefield High School in Haymarket, Virginia). That takes place in fall, but there are many in the spring/summer as well.

[MrJohnston]

[quote=jee7s;1257167]Off season? Off season?! There is no off season! /QUOTE]

Just what I was going to say.... If you mean the summer months, the newly elected team leadership works with mentors to design fall training and/or researches new skills to bring to the team. If you mean September - December, senior leaders train all new members on the fundamental skills used in their various subgroups.

[ToddF]

Where to begin?

Our primary activities during the spring and summer are community outreach and technology development. In the fall, we do skills development and off-season events.

Specifically, we already have two demonstrations scheduled at special events at the Virginia Air and Space Center, in April and May. We will be hosting a week long RoboCamp at Christopher Newport University, using Lego Mindstorm kits, for elementary school students. We also host an FRC Summit, where mentors and students from area teams can meet for a day of presentations where we all share teams best practices and lessons learned, so we can get better together. In the fall, we will be setting up a (nearly) full sized practice field at the Virginia Air and Space Center. This will be a facility which is open to all FRC teams to bring their robots to conduct drive practice, run scrimmages, do demonstrations, hang out and have fun with robots.

Aside from outreach activities, we try to meet at least once a week to work on development projects. These can be new technologies we want to try for inclusion in our future robots, or working with new manufacturing techniques or equipment. Last summer we developed a West Coast Drive that we adapted for use in our 2013 competition bot, designed and manufactured a custom gearbox using CNC milled sideplates, completely cleaned out and reorganized our storage room, and installed a digital readout on our manual milling machine.

In the fall we work on projects that develop skills. We call this "robot building practice". The goal is to get everyone on the team ready for build season. Last year we built a battery charging station, and converted our summer West Coast Drive from dead axle style to live axle style. We also attended the Robot Rumble, in Richmond, and IROC, in Haymarket. This year, we will also have the public practice field to construct and support.

As I told our students at our last meeting, the high pressure part of the year is over, but now comes the relaxing part. You can be done for the year if you chose to be, but if you want to keep on working on fun stuff, you can. I certainly plan to, and anyone who wants to come play, is welcome.

[GarroH]

While our team does a bunch of stuff during the offseason, one of the biggest is our involvement with BEST robotics. We used to have all of our FRC students compete in BESt in the fall. Now we have freshmen and sophomores compete on one of our four FTC teams and the juniors and seniors help them as well as mentor BEST robotics teams at each our two middles schools. This helps teach our students team leadership as well as many of the engineering skill for FRC.

We also do teambuilding, fundraising and other outreach activities like SXSWedu and our work with LEGO.

[PayneTrain]

Man, what a loaded question. I can see both of the teams I work with going to multiple offseason events in their respective areas. I know 422 went to Battle o Baltimore and the Richmond Rumble last offseason, and they want to add on BattleCry, Ramp Riot, Duel on the Delaware, CORI, and maybe IROC. You guys could go to IROC, like Ryan said, but the Rumble and the Battle are also local options.

Offseasons are great because they generate interest among students about the team (I love them because I finally can go to a robotics competition and be stress-free ). Build your team around some offseasons as if they are your regionals to mobilize your team more often.

A good thing to have soon would be an end of season review to discuss successes and shortcomings on the field, in the pits, in the shop... every facet of the team. Take time to make a detailed business plan that budgets money, outlines the team's mission and vision, and sets specific short and long term goals to give the team direction.

Talk to local teams about how they build their robot and figure out if you want to improve your machining capabilities. Think about setting up a permanent, semi-independent outreach division that makes the team a positive force in the community. Both of those require money, so identify potential local corporate sponsors your team could add to improve your revenue stream and provide greater possibilities for your team, its members, and community members. You have three specific teams I can think of within a 30 minute (traffic free in Northern VA, heh) drive that you could probably get in contact with: 1885, 116, and 612 are teams that could help you with outreach, machining, and fundraising respectively. You can also get in contact with one of the many overactive students on 422 who run the necessary subdivisions of operations and technical programs on the team.

Most importantly, go show people your robot! You guys built a pretty solid piece of machinery, so go show it off to your school and sponsors, go to community events, and get your name and FIRST's name out there!

[mcb]

The off-season has a lot of potential to make any team better, in any number of areas, depending on how you look at it Here are a few areas that stuck out in my mind, some of which have already been mentioned.

1. Off-season competitions. Attending off-season events is great for prepping students to take on new and bigger roles, especially on the drive team and in the pit. For the past few years, my team has been fortunate to attend both MARC in June and IRI in July; these events have been key to our success in former years, especially ones that had a wave of graduating seniors leaving the team.

2. Non-technical projects (think Chairman's Award material!). The off-season is a GREAT time to brainstorm and do projects because you actually have time to do them. The fall before build season is usually jam packed with build season prep, and students are busy getting back in the swing of school.

3. Team bonding. Getting the team together over the summer for the purpose of team bonding really improves the quality of the upcoming season... in my own experience, our team hosts a retreat for the students every summer, where everyone comes together to discuss the past season, prepare for the new one, and just have fun.

[karomata]

Community Services, Fundraisers, Demonstrations, Offseason events, hosting events: Co-hosting Rah Cha Cha Ruckus, Rumble (FLL), Razzle Dazzle (FLL), Rampage (Huge Demonstration), etc.

[Alex de Alba]

We're doing a Mexican off-season, if your team wants to come, it's welcome.
In our workshop the team do some new drivetrains to see the advantages and disvantages of each one.

[andres20perez]

We twiddle our thumbs and count the days until next kick off.

The mechanical team builds battle bots. They are divided into two teams. The two co captains pick people to go onto their team and they have the rest of the year to build two robots.

This year the programming team is going to be working with micro controllers and exploring other programming languages.

[lorem3k]

We play laser tag.