Understaffed scouting

[Citrus Dad]

Originally Posted by josephus

We have a relatively small team but would like to have an effective scouting group. How might we scout matches effectively with fewer than six people? I'm not worried about pit scouting, as that can be done by one or two people.
--josephus

First, focus on WHY you are scouting? Are you expecting to be an alliance captain or a first pick? Do you want to use your scout data for alliance strategy or just for draft picks? Make an honest assessment of your team's likely success and position in the competitions. Being an alliance captain demands much more than being a draft pick, but you can still bring substantial value if you have a good means of identifying a 2nd alliance member that fits well with your robot. For alliance strategy focus on what your robot does and what are the other skillsets that other robots need to have to be successful.

Once you figured that out, then focus your scouting on the information you need. Try to keep it from being overwhelming for your scouts.

And as EricH said, pull in mentors and parents. We've done that in the past, even having junior mentors testing out specialized scouting skills, and I've sat in for students when they need a break. Really make it a team effort.