Drive Team Fatigue

[Boyson]

Nutrition Tended to be the big issue for my team when I drove, because we often only had 15 min for lunch and didnt get a chance to eat or rest during the day. Keeping collapsible stools in the pit helps as well as making sure to get them out of the pit during down time.

[Libby K]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

It gets a little worse in districts. Match turn around time is kind of nuts at some events.

Nothing quite like the queuers telling you to put your cart right back in the queuing box you came from... three matches in a row.

Some of these fatigue tips apply to everyone - nutrition, hydration, breaks from monotony - but here's what I do, specifically with our drivers, to make sure they're not exhausted:

They (usually) don't have their hands in the robot between matches. Yes, if something truly critical happens they may lend an extra hand, but our 'pit crew' is a separate group of students from the drive team. I know I've posted about this before, but I can't find it at the moment. When the drive team comes back from a match, we issue a 'report' of sorts - here's what happened, here's what might have gotten bent - and the pit crew gets to work. That way, our drivers can take a seat (I highly recommend fold-up seating stored in your pit for the students and mentors stationed there), have some water, and relax.

We exchange who goes for pre-match alliance chats. Not only is bringing a whole horde of people to one pit a little crowded, but only taking one student per match allows the other two to take a break. The three students rotate through with me, speaking to our alliance partners - this lets each of them be involved in match strategy, but not be overwhelmed by being constantly on the move.

Everyone stays calm. I've noticed that many teams have this panicky atmosphere when things are going wrong - part of our team's culture is remembering to not freak out when things aren't going right. Are there rushed oh-god-we-need-to-be-on-field-now moments? Sure. I'd say 99% of the time, though, our pit is a calm and collected atmosphere - it definitely helps us think through a problem a little bit faster.

Get silly with it! This is supposed to be fun, after all. Our pit is never short on silly jokes, prank wars, and friendly jabs at each other. Not only does it help pass time, but it keeps everyone's attitude lighthearted - the day doesn't feel like a series of chores.

Hope that helps?

[AWoL]

My team specifically does not allow us (the drive team) to consume caffeine or sugary drinks or foods. This significantly helps with fatigue, alertness, and performance. You can think more clearly, but more relevant to this discussion, you don't end up crashing at about 2 to 3 pm. Just run on the adrenaline, it works.

Also make sure to get a good amount of sleep. To get to the venue we usually have to wake up at 5 am, so I try to go to sleep at least at 10 to 11 pm. If the scouting meeting is dragging to 1 am, excuse yourself, the mentors should understand.

And as everyone in this thread has mentioned...hydration, hydration, hydration.

[Ozuru]

Thanks for all the helpful replies, everyone! These are all great tips that I hadn't considered. It seems that sugary drinks and caffeine are just a no-no -- (thankfully) our drive team isn't the type that downs a monster energy drink before 9 AM but I still think that there is room for improvement. The sleep thing is huge, but what do you guys do on the Saturday night where scout team talks go late into the night? They persistently ask to be at them due to the fact that their experiences with the teams on the field may differ from the actual scouting data.

[Sperkowsky]

I personally just eat a lot of food and make use the rest of our robot cart as a seat.

[Loose Screw]

I have both driven a robot in competition and coached a drive team (FTC). I have learned a lot from my mentors and students.

1) KEEP UP WITH WATER AND GOOD FOOD
This is probably the most important thing, for very good reasons.

2) Don't stress out about losing a match.
Losses happen, and that can really bring drivers down. Just turn it into a learning experiance of what went wrong and what you can do to make it better.

3) Get some fresh air.
When I drove in 2012 I was handed a Gatorade and told to go outside after every match (that we had time for). Pit crews exist for a very good reason, and you just need to have faith in them. Fresh air, a cool breeze, and a cold drink feel so good after an intense match.

4) Take your mind off of matches.
As a driver, knowing what teams can do is imporatant. You should not worry about them. Let scouters handle that. Relieve your mind so you come back mentally refreshed.

5) Have fun.
This whole program is to inspire students, so you need to just have fun with it. What I liked to do was just wander the pits and look at how each team designed their robot. That not be what everyone likes, but just do something fun.

[lark95]

The best thing i would say is to stay out of the pit. Like others have said the pit crew knows what they are doing better than you. Get some water and take a walk. I made the mistake of being in the pits to much last year and was stressed to no end. What i realized to the end was that just sitting and watching the practice fields was very nice. Just watching up close robot you have never seen before is awesome.

[Qcom]

Get lots of sleep, eat healthy food, drink lots of water, don't bring your X-box to the hotel (which I can tell you from personal experience can really cut into the "lots of sleep" rule), and exercise; go on a few long walks in the days before a regional if you are on a drive team, this will help with standing fatigue.

[Pretzel]

I One thing I haven't really seen mentioned is that you should always have a seat handy, even if it's not a chair, so that you can sit down between matches without necessarily having to hike up to the stands. Last year our team had what we called the "bucket seats" that we kept in our pit (since our drive team is made of the same people who work on the robot and talk to judges, just because they know it well). They were multi purpose buckets, serving as chairs for the drivers who otherwise wouldn't get to sit down and as a way of carrying stuff around. This year we just use totes for both jobs.

Sitting down is huge, at least for me, as a driver. If you have a chance to just sit and relax, even if it's only for five minutes between matches, it can be extremely useful in not feeling completely worn down at the end of the day.

On the subject of remaining calm, I feel that this is an important aspect of an efficient drive team. I know many people who run on adrenaline while driving (and I know I did for the first competition I ever drove at in the off-season), but that will leave you too tired to stand and clap for awards at the end of the day. Since I golf competitively, I just picture each match as a different hole. How I do in one match doesn't affect my performance in the others, and it takes a lot of pressure that drivers may otherwise feel off my shoulders. As a result, I'm not completely wired for the entire day (though I still get excited in close matches). It allows me to drive with a clear mind, which makes logical decision making much easier than it otherwise would be if I was constantly running on adrenaline. Just go out there, relax, do the Macarena, and have some fun!

Do remember water though. My team has a dedicated person whose job is to change the batteries between matches and force the drivers (if necessary) do drink water. One competition we did not have this person, and I didn't drink a single glass of water until the team social that evening. The night afterwords I was kept awake through the night by constant leg cramps, which is not an experience I would recommend for optimal performance.

[donnie99]

Everything here looks great! I personally think it all depends on the people on your drive team. I was a driver for 3 years and my partner for 4, we never felt fatigued through all our competitions together. Part of it might be the adrenaline we felt towards the end of the competitions from the close matches and playoffs. Another part might be the lack of stress we felt. We both understood how important matches and everything was, but we were always relaxed throughout. My advice personally would be to just have the drive team stay calm no matter what happens, whether something breaks or you just posted the high score at your competition. Until the playoffs where the adrenaline is constantly pumping, I feel its best to waste as little energy on worrying or celebrating until everything is over. "Over" meaning what your teams priorities are, whether its going for a specific award or winning the whole thing!

Basically what I'm saying is, Stay Calm and Drive On!

[GreyingJay]

Originally Posted by DarkRune

If something breaks in the match, well you tell the pit crew exactly what happens, that's what they are there for. Have faith, they are the almighty pit crew, they can and will fix everything. Go take a break, go for a jog, DRINK MORE WATER, watch a couple matches, talk to other teams, pit scout, talk to your scouters, engage the people in the stands. You are there to help your team succeed, everyone looks up to you, they will help you every way they can so return the favor and engage your teammates who are in the stands pulling those long scouting shifts.

I really like this advice, from the perspective of a mentor who was both down in the pit madly addressing problems after each qualification match, and as a mentor who has sat up in the stands with the scouting team. The pit crew is stressing out because of the work they need to do and the limited time they have to do it. Having the drive team hover around doesn't help, and makes the pit more crowded and stressful. Meanwhile, the scouters sitting in the stands have been watching match after match after match and not really communicating with everyone else. They are also drawing their own conclusions based on what they've seen. Having drive team members sit down and spend time with them, maybe fill them in on what really happened down there, would be a nice way of keeping everyone connected.

[BenGuy]

I know from experience, there really isn't a way not to. Even after drinking 3 or 4 bottles of water throughout the day, I'm still out before my head hits the pillow on Friday and Saturday night.

[MaGiC_PiKaChU]

have you tried turning them on and off?

I manage to make the weekend with a *few* energy drinks

[221Sarahborg]

I have to make sure that I take breaks throughout the days of competitions. Thankfully for us we had really nice weather last weekend for our regional and it was so nice outside. We make sure to find big breaks in our matches or during the lunch break and we would lay down in the grass spots of the parking lot and just relax whenever we could. Take a breather when you're in practice matches or just in the pits if you don't have something to work on. Whenever you can, drink WATER. I don't even go near soda for the weekend if not the whole week. We were lucky enough with the venue to have a big hangar door that would allow us quick and easy access to head outside and get some fresh air, which helped me the most.

Good luck to all teams!