Tips to make your team a contender?

[Loose Screw]

When it comes to deciding a strategy that you want your robot to follow, I do something with my FTC kids that I call point analysis.

First, I give my kids a detailed quiz on scoring. It tests them on every single way to score points, and how many points each scoring way is worth. I do this for two reasons: save the results for driver selections, and to figure out the max points you can score.

Once you figure out the max score, you can figure out where most of the points come from. You can compare different parts of the challenge to see which would be a better option. For example, if we were to apply this to 2013, it appears that the frisbees get you the most points. You could compare that to climbing the pyramid to see which is better. 4 frisbees at once and 3 pts per high goal is a 12 point cycle. Compare that to a climb and dump of 50pts. It would take 5 cycles, or 17 frisbees to score more than the pyramid. Ask yourself if you think that is possible, and then go for that.

We first did point analysis for Block Party, and we ended up finalists at Michigan States and a spot to a super regional.

Point analysis isn't perfect, but a very good starting point to lead you to victory.