Strategy Badges

[MrJohnston]

Originally Posted by TDav540

True, but the coach can't do the proper scouting to collect match data. So there is a need to at least convey the match data of the opponents (maybe not this year but in other years) or teammates to your coach/drivers.

We manage. It's really a matter of looking ahead on the schedule and being prepared. We do have a "head scout" whose job it is to meet with the coach between matches to convey pertinent information... Sometimes we do have to look ahead a match or two....We have strategy meetings late at night to discuss the next day's opponents and over lunch to look at the afternoon matches, etc....

[TDav540]

Originally Posted by MrJohnston

We manage. It's really a matter of looking ahead on the schedule and being prepared. We do have a "head scout" whose job it is to meet with the coach between matches to convey pertinent information... Sometimes we do have to look ahead a match or two....We have strategy meetings late at night to discuss the next day's opponents and over lunch to look at the afternoon matches, etc....

That's something we try to do as well. Any breaks with shorter than five matches, you need to plan ahead significantly. Still, adding a Strategy badge can't hurt, especially if they can only be with the team in during queuing.

[April_robo]

I'm not sure about regionals but we run into this issue a lot at districts because there's a very high probability that one of your alliance members (or opposing alliance members for coop) has a short match turn around and can only be talked to in the que. My job is made especially hard because I am the lead strategist for both 3548 and 1188 as we are almost the same team, and don't have enough people for 2 lead strategists.

[rich2202]

cell phone.

[Chris is me]

I've done strategy without being on the drive team for several years now. It's tough.

The media pass helps. I also take photos and video for the team at events (really, I do), so I often have the media pass. In this case, I try to stay out of everyone's way, but I can join in on discussion during queueing. Once the robots start to move from queueing, I leave the area to get out of the way. This seems to work okay.

As a strategist not on the drive team though, the best way you can deal with this is to figure out probable strategies several matches in advance and talk to partners while your team is queueing / on the field for their previous match. Then once everyone is in the same place you can run through it quickly.

[GeeTwo]

Originally Posted by Chris is me

The media pass helps.

Discussing strategy with your teammates is a quick way to get the media pass pulled.


Perhaps the coach can come out of line to speak with the strategy person, then return to the queue to join the rest of the drive/HP team. Three people should be enough to go through the queue checklists.

[Chris is me]

Originally Posted by GeeTwo

Discussing strategy with your teammates is a quick way to get the media pass pulled.

Under what rule does this fall under?

I understand if the pass is being pulled by someone exclusively using it as a "5th drive team member" badge or something, but if the person wearing the badge is actually there to take pictures and / or video, I don't understand. It's illegal for a team's media representative to talk to their team?

[Koko Ed]

Originally Posted by GeeTwo

Discussing strategy with your teammates is a quick way to get the media pass pulled.


Perhaps the coach can come out of line to speak with the strategy person, then return to the queue to join the rest of the drive/HP team. Three people should be enough to go through the queue checklists.

Working on the robot is what get's them in trouble.

[Gregor]

Originally Posted by Koko Ed

Working on the robot is what get's them in trouble.

Under what rule?

[dodar]

Originally Posted by Gregor

Under what rule?

Media Pass has never been allowed to work on the robot.

[Siri]

Originally Posted by Gregor

Under what rule?

It's not a rule in the way you're trying to ask, and for good reason: the media pass itself is not allocated within the Game or Admin Manual. The only badges that are are Drive Team and Safety Captain. The other decisions, as I understand it, are at the discretion of the event. Which makes sense, because as Koko Ed mentioned, many arenas (to include queuing) are just too crowded.

Personally, I've always considered the logistical difficulty of handling strategy at a competitions to be part of the tournament. If The Powers That Be disagree, I'd be happy to use the access in venues where there's room.

[PayneTrain]

This sounds like a position your coach should be filling while in or out of queue. Have someone else communicate relevant match data to the coach between matches. Last year as drive coach the head scout and I would meet or he would otherwise communicate information to me, and this year I text the drive coach often. I remember 118 had their scouts deliver the packets of data they had on the other 5 robots for the match to the coach at Alamo last year.

Coaches should be able to run strategy with the other coaches, provided they get digestible data to use. I've never coached at a district or a similarly sized regional so maybe I just don't comprehend how you could be having this problem, though.

[New Lightning]

I ran scouting for my old team as the head scout/strategist in 2014 and my job was to sit in the stands and watch the other teams play. Approximately 30 min before a match I would take all of our data down to the pit and then go over it with our driver coach. I gave him my best plan and left it up to him to work out the details with the other teams. This worked really well. And on the matches were we had a short turn around I briefed our coach in advance. He already had all the data on paper for the next match so when he went back into queing he already knew the plan.

[GeeTwo]

Originally Posted by rich2202

cell phone.

Have you ever tried to use a cell phone during an FRC event? It's almost too loud for texting.

[Basel A]

This isn't much of a problem because we simply work out as much strategy as possible pre-queue. At many events the queue is right next to the field boundary and you can discuss over the barrier anyway. Worst case, I'll tell our drive coach the main points and let him work it out. A coach who can't do that shouldn't be the coach.

Having someone separate from the drive coach responsible for strategy is great because it allows the drive coach to have focus other things when necessary (e.g. fixing/improving the robot). Further, these strategy talks are negotiations, and having two people who agree (can't remember the last time our coach and I disagreed) makes a stronger argument.

I don't know how much a "strategy badge" would help. I'm going to districts with the same schedule as yours, and I haven't had problems. Frankly, running our scouting operation, I don't have the time to be in queue.