Choosing Drivers for the Long Haul

[ttldomination]

Originally Posted by Gregor

I think this page on 2056's website is pertinant.

http://www.2056.ca/news/team-2056-drivers

I actually read this a while ago, and it's actually what drove this discussion in my team.

We see merit in the idea of choosing a young driveteam and letting them grow into their competitive shoes, but it's hard to take a stance that not only goes against so many team members, but also requires that we place our faith in untested hands.

There is natural appeal to the idea of giving everyone a shot, but during crunch time, we don't have that luxury. As such, it may be best to pick out a drive team in the weeks leading up to the 2014 FRC Season. Let the chips fall where they may, but we'll have qualitative and quantitative data that will help our leadership make a more informed decision.

The idea of "long haul" drivers is still up in the air (in my mind), but having a try-out schedule in place will help (a little).

- Sunny G.

[Phyrxes]

Our long haul robot driver graduated last year so I'm also looking for his replacement. Fortunately our school division put extensive support into middle school Vex so I have a sizable group of interested freshman with competitive experience but its still unknown how much of that translates to FRC. Traditionally we let interested students try and drive throughout the local offseason event qualifications and then assemble a drive team for eliminations from the students that tried.

I'm not convinced I'll find another long haul driver this year but it will give me a good idea of what my driver pool looks like.

[Kims Robot]

Originally Posted by ttldomination

We see merit in the idea of choosing a young driveteam and letting them grow into their competitive shoes, but it's hard to take a stance that not only goes against so many team members, but also requires that we place our faith in untested hands.

But isn't every student who has never been on the real field "untested hands"? No matter what year they are, the competition field is a whole new ball game, and is always "untested" until a student's first few matches. So you are always taking a risk.

Even offseason events, while the closest approximation, are not a guarantee of performance on the real field... the stakes are much lower, the environment slightly different, the pace slightly different, the robot much better known/vetted.

I've seen students who I never in a million years pictured would be good under pressure/on the sticks blow away competition... I've seen students that were "naturally skilled" crack under the pressure of the field. It takes a unique combination of skills and chemistry to build a drive team, which in many ways is why choosing a freshman drive team may be the best way to go.

Some of these are generalizations
- Freshmen/Rookies are more "moldable"... having never been part of the team, they have zero expectations or sense of entitlement to the role.
- Freshmen/Rookies may have "no fear"... ever seen a 5 year old barreling down a mountain on skis? they are unbreakable, they don't know how to be afraid yet. Freshmen, who have never experienced the pressure of a competition, in the pits or on the field, cannot have the same type of fear or understanding of the pressure.
- Freshman don't have senioritis... while many senior drivers want to go out with a bang, they also have other things to focus on. Meanwhile, Freshman may see the potential future ahead, and may be willing to work harder because they have more to lose - their future roles.
- Freshmen know they aren't "the cool kids on the block"... they may be more willing to take direction and do whatever they are told. In the hands of a skilled coach this can be incredibly valuable.

My favorite year with 1511 will always be their rookie year, and that was the year we handed the sticks to a set of freshmen... they were wide eyed and scared... one literally threw up before every single competition, but being so scared, they took direction incredibly well, and didn't laugh at us when we made them put on blindfolds and direct eachother around obstacles. While not the results of 2056, they did make it to 5th place at one regional, won our third regional, and won an offseason.

It can seem hard to justify, but that's where a strong team captain or team leader with a vision comes in. Sometimes you just have to make a decision and everyone has to live with it, and work towards the same goal. Find the right qualities that match what you are looking for, and spend the rest of the time training and building your drivers.

[Siri]

Originally Posted by Kims Robot

...Freshmen/Rookies may have "no fear"...cannot have the same type of fear or understanding of the pressure...

I tend to argue against this being a good thing. (Also, I'm having trouble juxtaposing the assertion with the latter story)

One major thing we've learned to look for in drivers (regardless of age) is how well they're known to handle and respect pressure. It's true, it makes or breaks drive teams. But I'd argue that the absence of fear, particularly when born of naivety, is anything but courage--courage is forged in the fires of fear. All the best drivers we've ever had were varsity athletes, and all the runners up had similar qualities and resumes (lifeguards, EMTs, Eagle Scouts, military cadets). The trend started well before we realized it should be a selection issue of its own. Sure, you might not ever be able to replicate being on an official event's field*, but in many ways I've found that pressure is pressure, and grace under it is just that. So I'd advise finding people that know or are primed to learn how to handle it, rather than those that don't yet know how to be afraid. The latter's reactions are much less predictable than the former.

That said, this doesn't inherently rule out rookies! Drivers from OCCRA/etc (is it 33 that's well known for this?), cadets, athletes, even musical soloists, etc can be awesome choices.


*For what it's worth, I've been in the box for 7 years with essentially every driver our team's ever had, and almost every one of us thrives most at the "a field is a field" level. There needn't be any substantive difference between playing at Horsham, Einstein, or Monty Madness, if you can confine yourself to the pressure of the game and play the field you're dealt. This, again, is a technique I see in a lot of varsity athletes and other performers.

[Kims Robot]

Originally Posted by Kims Robot

Freshmen/Rookies may have "no fear"... ever seen a 5 year old barreling down a mountain on skis? they are unbreakable, they don't know how to be afraid yet.

My reference here was in regards to the kids that psych themselves out so much they freeze up, or are too afraid to be aggressive with the robot because they've seen how hard it is to fix it. When kids learn to be afraid of messing up, they can get completely locked up.

Originally Posted by Siri

I tend to argue against this being a good thing. (Also, I'm having trouble juxtaposing the assertion with the latter story)

I see fear and nerves as two different things. The story I relayed was not fear (in my eyes) it was nerves. The second that kid got behind the sticks he was amazing, he "drove it like he stole it", and could outdrive 90% of the drivers Ive seen. He was not afraid of the robot or the matches, he just got nervous before the competitions.

I can agree with the "need to respect the pressure" statement, but I don't think respecting the pressure means you have to be afraid. You simply have to be aware of it, understand it, and move past it.

[Siri]

Originally Posted by Kims Robot

I can agree with the "need to respect the pressure" statement, but I don't think respecting the pressure means you have to be afraid. You simply have to be aware of it, understand it, and move past it.

I like the fear/nerves distinction, but I'm not sure how someone can "be aware of it, understand it, and move past it" (agreed--I called this courage) if they "don't know how to be afraid yet". It's the latter statement I'd avoid in long-haul selection, or any driver/leadership selection really, because at some point they will learn about the things that some are afraid of, and it's difficult to predict if they'll be able to do the aware/understand/move=courage thing.