Ethics of Telling a Team "No"

[DampRobot]

Originally Posted by valeriemoore

The thing that makes this years game interesting (and frightening) is that the actions necessary to win the match are not necessarily the ones that attract the attention for scouters. Every robot wants to prove their shooter and their ability to pass.

No. Scouts don't just look for robots that can shoot. If they do, they're bad scouts.

Unless you're one of the best shooters at the regional, shooting will likely not get you picked. Being a meh shooter is actually worse than not shooting this game, as you'll lose your alliance much more time chasing down the ball than you'll gain in points if you happen to make it in the high goal. Smart scouts know this, and won't really care I'd you made 8 high goal shots or 3 if your drivetrain isn't there or you don't appear to pass well.

Passing, on the other hand is something that every team can and should demonstrate to scouts, and something that will contribute to almost any qualification alliance. Probably one of the easiest and best things for a robot to do in quals (given even a KitBot drivetrain and extremely basic ball handling skills) is to sit in front of the human player, receive the ball and pass it to another robot, and then go play defense. This isexactly what scouts are looking for, will make a positive contribution to your alliance, and stay "out of the way" of other robots.